Our Story: Untold
by TheAmazingLT
Summary: Post finale. The Samcedes story that was never told.
1. Chapter 1

**Hello people of the world, so I'm writing a Samcedes story! This story takes place after the show's finale. I read online that there is this scene in the script where Mr. Schue asks Sam about Mercedes and Sam tells him they had dinner and she says 'she's ready to settle down' and that's what inspired this.**

 **Sooooo, I have decided to write something for some closure because in all honesty the Glee producers just messed up Sam and Mercedes storyline!**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Glee or its characters**

* * *

 _Home..._

She was finally home after exactly 1-year and 8 months of working on her new album, rehearsals for her latest world tour, radio interviews, charity functions, award shows, guest starring on TV shows, talk shows and of course her world tour. She has not seen her parents physically in six months and most of her friends- with the exception of Mike who was her choreographer on tour- in eight months. This weekend would be the first time she saw them after the birth of her godson- Nicholas.

Do not get her wrong, she loved her life. When she was younger, she would dream of this life. She had five Grammys under her belt, a Critics Choice Award for her work on a TV mini-series, and an Academy Award for Best Original Songs for one of her songs featured on a sound track of a blockbuster movie all by the tender age of 25. She was singing and sharing her talent and songs with the world like she always dreamed of doing. She was inspiring young women like her idols inspired her. She had fans all around the world. She worked with the most talented songwriters, producers and artist the world had to give. She was living the dream- a life in the fast lane...

She loved her life...

 _Loved..._

She achieved her goals, she lived a full life thus far and she would not change that. However, now that she was older and her life goals changed, the fast lane life was not as appealing. She wanted to settle down. She wanted to put down roots and start a family. She wanted to have a bunch of babies, become a stay at home mom- like her mother was, and raise them. She wanted to watch them grow and play with the Labrador in the backyard. She wanted to invite all her friends for BBQ's at her home and share stories about her children like _Klaine_ did about their little boy- who she adored with every fiber of her being. She was a traditionalist at heart and there was nothing wrong with that. Some women choose to focus on their careers for a long time before starting families and some just do not want to marry or have children and she applauds them for that. But her career was not as fulfilling anymore- she wanted something more.

"Baby girl, are you still in there?" Her father asked bringing her back into the present.

"Uhm...yeah, I was just daydreaming a little." She smiled at the 53-year old man who wore his age, years of laughter and wisdom on his face. He took her small hands in his and squeezed them tightly.

"I am so glad your home, again. We missed you so much, Baby girl, talking on the laptop and seeing you through a screen just is not the same."

"I know, Daddy and I am glad to be back," She said looking around her father's work office. Her eyes ran over the bookshelf she used to spend hours reading when she helped at her dad's practice when staying home was too much of a bore. She smiled at the familiar smell of cigars and dust hanging in the room..

After her father picked her up from the airport, he remembered he forgot paperwork he needed to do at home in his office. Her father closed the practice early for the day so that they could spend time together as a family. She followed him inside the abandoned building immediately feeling at home again.

"Good, so how long do you plan on staying this time?" He asked letting go of her and continuing his search.

She shrugged.

"I don't know. I don't have anything waiting for me in LA, I've decided to take a break for a while and just focus on me." She said.

Her father looked up from his desk raising a brow at her.

"So, no boyfriend?" He fished in a manner he presumed was 'slyly'. It took all of Mercedes not to roll her eyes at him.

"No, Daddy."

In her line of work, the only people she met were in the music industry themselves and the industry being so fast-paced left little time for dating. She has not been on a date for two and a half years now and her parents were worried that she would not find someone.

Her father- ironically- tried setting her up every time she came home claiming he wanted some grandchildren in his future. In all honesty, it was rather annoying. She knew her dad was only worried that she was putting her career first and neglecting her love life. Even though it was true it was not really any of his business at all.

"Carol's son, James, he's in town for a week. I saw the way the boy looked at you last time you were here and he does not have a girlfriend. And Martin, you know, Pastor Chris' nephew came back from the military two weeks ago-"

"Dad-" she began but her father ignored her and continued.

"Oh, well you know who I ran into last week-"

"Dad-" Mercedes warned throwing her father a disapproving look.

Could he not wait until she settled in from her long flight before playing cupid again?

"-The Tinsley's son...what's his name?...some thing with an S- Saul...Steve...Sam-" Her father searched for the right name. "-no, not Sam but speaking about Sam, he came in yesterday. By the way that boy has a big mouth- I swear I can fit my whole hand in his mouth.. Anyhow, he asked when you were flying in, said something about you not answering his messages and you probably falling asleep. He is a nice boy, always respectful. He has good teeth are so he has some good hygiene. I have seen the way that boy looks at you whenever you are in town...your mother looks at me like that. Plus he has large hands for baby carrying-"

"Daddy." She groaned her hands in the air.

If her father could, he would probably force her into an arranged marriage.

Her father lifted a brow innocently.

"Didn't you two date in high school? You're single, he's single-"

Mercedes sighed in irritation pinching the bridge of her nose.

"Look, I'm gonna wait in the car hopefully by then you'll get it through you skull that I don't need you meddling, Dad."

Before her father could continue naming all the suitable suitors for her, she fled out of his office in to the deserted parking lot. Once at the car she realized her father still had the car keys. She sighed and sat down on the brick steps leading to the front door of the dental practice.

She played with her fingers in boredom studying the old buildings surrounding her. They were such a contrast to the modern towers in LA...and she liked that. She liked that she was not in the city anymore.

Her phone vibrated in the back pocket of her jeans making slightly jump in surprise. She slipped the phone out of her pockets and looked at it to see Sam's name flashing on the screen. Even after all these years, she and Sam were still best friends. He was the first person she called when she got a Grammy nomination the first time four years ago, he was the first person (after God of course) she thanked in her acceptance speech because if it wasn't for him posting that video years ago she would have probably wasted her talents. Sam was the person she texted when she had a crappy day and needed a laugh.

Just as she shared important news with him first, he also shared news with her. She was the first person he called when he decided to go for his teaching degree in music at the community college. She was the person he called when his dyslexia got the most of him and left him frustrated when he had to study. She was the person who encouraged him when he felt down. She was the person he called when he got a job as the new Music Theory teacher at WMHS a year ago.

She pressed her thumb to the touch screen opening the text message.

'Hey, you here yet?'

Her fingers danced over the keypad on her screen as she typed her reply.

'Yep. At the practice waiting for dad. Aren't you supposed to be teaching your class, Mr. Evans?'

He replied immediately.

'...I guess but I'd rather talk to you. I missed you. You wanna meet up later?'

'You'll be seeing me tomorrow, Sam...'

'Yeah but then I will have to share you with the others. I do not like sharing 'Cedes. I'm a selfish man, you can't expect me to share all your goodness with the world when I can have it to myself ;)'

She rolled her eyes.

'You make me sound like I'm some kind of dessert you don't wanna share. I'm not a chocolate ice-cream, Sam.'

'Are you sure? Can I have a taste to make sure? ;)

Mercedes laughed aloud.

'You need therapy, Sam. You are way too perverted! Dirty old man.'

He texted her back.

'I just had a flashback when we had couple counseling when you were still dating Shane. And who are you calling an dirty old man?! You are three months older than I am. You are the old one between the two of us...and remember that time you were all up on this? You're the dirty old one.'

She grinned wiping a stray hair out of her eyes.

'I'm not old...and what can I say, I like the young ones. I'm a cougar!'

'Okay...that sounded sssssssssexyyyyyyyyy! Purr for me, kitty cat!'

Before Mercedes could reply with an emoticon rolling its eyes, Sam sent another text.

'So, you? Me? Dinner? Breadsticks? Seven-thirty?'

She smiled and sent him a 'thumbs-up' emoticon seconds before her father walked out with a stack of papers under his armpits.

"Shane!" He cried locking the glass door. Mercedes raised her brow at her father looking at him as if he was crazy. "-His name was Shane. He's in the NFL now."

"I know, Dad."

"He lost weight after high school- he's still large but he's thinner now. He asked about you?" Her father said and put the keys in his pocket and holding out his hand for her to help her up from the brick steps. She took his hand raising a brow.

"What did he ask?"

Her father shrugged.

"The normal things, how are you, when are you coming back to Lima, if you are seeing anybody. He asked about your tour too."

"Oh." Mercedes said. What was she supposed to say about a boy she hasn't seen face to face in 7 years? She heard about him and she saw him playing on TV on those random moments when she decided to do some channel surfing.

"Yep." Her father said unlocking his Lexus. Both got in and her father started the 5-minute drive home. They drove in comfortable silence Mercedes reminiscing about her teenage years when Lima was all she truly knew as he drove.

Mercedes was brought out of her memories when the car stopped in front of the two-story home Mercedes spend her childhood in. A soft smile spread over her face as her gaze danced over the multi-colored flowerbeds in her mother's garden. The front door opened and immediately Chester and Shakespeare ran outside barking for joy as they ran to the car. Her mother stepped out of the house glaring at the Lab and Dalmatian scampering around the car in excitement.

Mercedes got out the car immediately getting jumped on by the dogs and licked her wherever their tongues could reach. She petted them both with a grimace trying to gently get them off her to no avail.

"Why were Chester and Shakespeare in the house?" Her father asked her mother as he got out the car.

"They came in through the kitchen and when they heard the car they ran towards the front door barking and clawing it." Her mother sighed before opening her arms and smiling at her daughter. Mercedes forced the eager dogs off her before walking into her mother's embrace.

"My sweet baby girl is home," her mother whispered against her temple kissing her. Mercedes tightened her grip around her shoulders. She missed her mom so much these past few months.

"Okay, as heart-warming as that all is can somebody help me with these?" Her father asked causing the two women to pull apart. Both women looked at the tall burly man struggling as he tried to get her large suitcases out of the car. They walked over to him and helped him with them.

"What's in here, rocks?" Her mother asked rolling one of the heavy suitcases towards the door as her father chuckled.

"I asked the same thing," He said.

Mercedes rolled her eyes

"Honey, it looks like your moving back home. How long are you staying?" Her mother asked over her shoulder.

"I don't know yet but I'm taking a break for a while and just focusing on myself." Mercedes said dragging the bag behind her.

Oh how she wished for a bodyguard now to carry these. Yes, she was spoilt by the fame and fortune …just a little bit though.

"Oh well, that's good. I love having you home, the house is too silent." Her mother said smiling at her before entering the house. "Anyhow, what do you want for dinner, I was planning on making your favorite- Lasagna.."

Mercedes entered the house behind her and followed her down the long hallway. Framed picture of her childhood were scattered on the walls. Photos of her family and close friends of her parents were there too.

"Oh, uhm...actually Sam and I made plans for tonight. I know I just got here and I'm already-"

"Sweetheart, it's fine. You haven't seen him in almost a year and I know the two of you are close-"

"Wait, how close are you two now-" Her dad interjected behind her.

"Dad, I'm not dating Sam no matter how amazing his dental hygiene is." Mercedes said rolling her eyes to the ceiling.

"I was just asking," he muttered under his breath.

Her mother snorted at her father's remark and led them upstairs. She opened Mercedes' bedroom door and put her luggage down before leaving her to settle in.

Mercedes immediately kicked off her Jimmy Choo boots. She studied the small room painted lavender. Fresh white linen was wrapped over the queen-sized bed. She threw her handbag on the bed and walked towards the wall that still had some old lingering photos she did not take with her to L.A. She stared at the old photos of her friends and smiled before going back to her bed and falling on it backwards. She closed her eyes taking a deep breath.

She was home again…

* * *

The last bell of the day rang making him look up from the piano and greeting his students who were already swarming out of the room to go home. Once they were all gone and the last one closed the choir room door, his phone beeped. He grabbed the phone of the Grand piano and saw _'Cedes'_ scrawled over the screen with a photo of her pulling a face beneath it. He smiled and read her text:

'Hi, so I'll meet you there? Or are you gonna pick me up at home?'

'I'm a gentleman, Ms Jones. Of course I'm gonna pick you up.'

He smiled when she replied with a emoticon rolling its eyes.

He really loved the girl with all his heart- he guessed that is why it never worked out with other girls. When he dated Mercedes she was more than just his girlfriend, she was his best friend (sorry Blaine). He was the kind of person who lived with his head in the clouds and Mercedes grounded him when they were together. After they broke up, they remained close friends and talked at least twice a week (it was hard keeping contact with her busy career). He told her everything and she told him everything...well almost everything. The only topic that was off limits was their dating lives. Discussing their love lives with on another was awkward...especially since he still loved her very much.

He would always love Mercedes Jones. They were endgame. He realized it years ago; he was just waiting for her to finally realize it too. They were perfect for each other and in all honesty they were just wasting time being apart but if there was one thing Mercedes Jones was- it was stubborn. Life would be so much easier if she just gave in to him...but no...Mercedes wanted to be self-righteously humble and unselfish...honestly it was annoying. She would probably freak if she found out he spent these past few years waiting for to realize they were endgame.

He was turning 25 in a month and he wanted more than just a girl at his side so he did not feel lonely. He was ready to settle down and have children. Most of his friends were married, some even had kids or were expecting, and in all honesty, he was jealous of them because he wanted that too. He wanted to watch his wife sing his children to sleep at bedtime. He wanted to chase his children around the house as their laughter echoed through the halls of their home. He wanted to read his children bedtime stories- okay comic books to be exact. He wanted to chase away monsters hiding under the bed. He wanted it so badly...and he only wanted it with one person...

Mercedes Jones.

But she was too busy being a world-wide superstar. His girl (well, he called her his girl in his head) was busy doing amazing things. Inspiring young artist like her idols inspired her, singing on world stages and winning awards as she did. She was amazing and on top of the world and he did not know if he could compete with that.

He was brought back to the present when his phone alerted him of a Facebook notification. Sam stood up from the black piano and gathered his sheet music throwing it in his bag. He placed a few chairs the Glee kids moved around in their gifted places before grabbing his messenger bag and walking out the room switching the light off and closing the door behind him. He walked down the halls of the school bidding goodbyes to lingering students and faculty members as he headed to the parking lot.

His new model BMW stood lonesome in the parking lot between a few open spaces. People usually wondered how he could afford such a car since he was only a teacher but what they did not know was that he was actually wealthy (no way Donald Trump or Steve Jobs rich yet). Yes, Sam Evans was rich and in all honesty he did not even have to try hard to obtain his wealth, all he did was lend two guys he met in college some money.

Greg was a Business major and a entrepreneur Sam met when he was enrolled in community college about four years ago. Naveed was studying for his Computer Science Degree. The two men needed more money to start their Web Design business and they cornered Sam who inherited money from a family member he did not even know existed. It was not a lot of money but it was enough to buy him a used car and have a few dollars left. Sam lend the two men some money and they made him a silent partner in their business giving him a few documents to sign. At first, the business did not take off as expected but two years later their luck changed, the business expanded, and they moved it to California where they were now dabbling in App Development. Since Sam was a silent partner and minority shareholder he stayed behind whilst they did their thing. All he got was his money and the business' financial statements yearly but he let his accountant deal with that.

With the money he got from the company's success he did what he said years ago- he bought his parents a ranch so they would never have to go through losing their home again. He then bought an expensive car...he liked fast expensive cars- it was a weakness.

He unlocked the car and got in. His phone rang. A picture of Blaine flashed over his screen.

"What's up, man?"

"Hey" Sam could hear squeals in background. "No Nick- Nick...Ow, don't pull daddy's hair." He heard the child laugh. "KURT!"

Sam laughed at the fuss his godson was making in the background.

"Are you okay?" Sam asked amused turning the car's engine on.

"Uhh- there go to daddy..." he heard Blaine coo. "...Yeah, sorry about that. I swear he is trying to make me bald! Anyway, I wanted to know if you want to have dinner tonight at the Hummel's? We arrived like an hour ago."

"Sorry man, I have plans for tonight."

"Jamba Juice girl? I thought you were going to break up with her."

Sam reversed out of the parking lot rolling his eyes.

"We broke up a long time ago - too clingy."

When they started dating things were fun, light and easy but then she wanted to get serious -they always wanted to get serious. Sam did not want to make the girls feel like he was into them when in all honesty his heart belonged only to one girl. He made it perfectly clear every time he began dating someone that he was not really looking for something serious. At first, they would understand that but with time, they would start doing things like leaving things behind in his apartment, asking him for a key to his apartment. Inviting themselves over for dinner or to stay the night. A few even asked to move in together.

"Sam, seriously, you can't live the single life forever. Now, it's still fun and okay because you're still young but in 15-years it'll be sad. Almost all of your friends will be married an have kids and you'll be all alone-"

Sam rolled his eyes.

"Blaine, stop worrying about my love life."

The other man sighed.

"Sam, you haven't had a real relationship after Mercedes...and that weird thing with Rachel afterwards that I still don't fully understand- NICK!-" Sam heard shuffling in the background and giggles. "Kurt, I thought you were watching him!-Nick...no...Nick don't eat that!- Oh please, don't-"

"Look Blaine clearly you have your hands full with Nick so I'll call you later. I'll drop by tomorrow morning before school and check on my favorite godchild-"

"He's your only godchild-"

"Do you have to be so technical?" Sam asked rolling his eyes.

"Yeah...Nick...no don't press tha-"

The line went dead. Sam presumed his and Mercedes' godchild was responsible for that...

Godchild

Child...

His and Mercedes' child...it had a ring to it.

Their children would be freaking gorgeous...seriously with a gene pool like his and Mercedes they could be freaking supermodels. They would be light caramel, maybe their boys (he wanted at least three children) would have his green eyes but he hoped their daughters would have her large expressive eyes. They would be the happiest, most beautiful children in the world.

Sam shook his head trying to shake away the thoughts of their 'could-be' future and focused back on the road home. He really did not want to get into an accident before tonight.

He grinned. He was beyond excited at the thought of seeing her. He has not seen her in 8 months- and no talking via Skype did not count. He really missed her a lot and he wanted to spend as much time with her as he could before she left again to conquer the world.

He parked his car under the roof in his parking space of the apartment parking lot. Grabbing his messenger bag he locked the car. As he ran up the metal stairs of the building greeting his neighbor as he ran.

He reached the door of apartment number 13 and unlocked it walking into the living room. His walls were painted cream with framed vintage comic book posters of Captain America and Superman. The red and blue of the posters flowed perfectly together with his leather couch and red carpet under the glass coffee table. He had a large TV stand littered with framed pictures of his friends and family members mixed with random Sci-Fi memorabilia.

His favorite photo on the stand though was the one of him and Mercedes with Nicholas when Blaine and Kurt asked them to be godparents. Mercedes was holding the three-day old baby draped in a blue blanket securely in her arms staring at him with adoration. Sam -who sat on the armrest of the sofa- had one of his arms reaching around Mercedes' neck, his chest pressed to her side as he leaned over to rub the infant's small hand with his finger. He was smiling brightly at the baby. In the picture he and Mercedes looked like a married couple...he liked it...he liked it a lot actually.

He wanted her so badly but time and distance were not their friends. Mercedes would be going to LA in a short while and their relationship would remain in the friend zone…

He was damn tired of the friend zone

* * *

 **So, you wanna read some more?**


	2. Chapter 2

**Thank you for the four reviews thus far. They are appreciated.**

 **Chapter 2 lets go:**

* * *

He arrived at the Jones residence at 10 past seven. Staring at the home from his car brought back flashbacks of high school when he still dated Mercedes. He felt nervous getting out of the car. A cool breeze ran over his exposed cheeks reddening the pale skin. He walked up the white painted wooden porch steps taking a deep breath and fixing his clothes. He wore a white t-shirt underneath a black bike jacket paired with dark skinny jeans and red Nike high-tops. A sliver Cross chain hung around his neck. He fixed his sweptback hair self-consciously. He wanted to look good but he did not want to scream that he tried too hard to impress her either.

He let out a deep breath and straightened his spine before ringing the doorbell. Seconds later, he heard shuffling behind it before it opened to reveal Mercedes' mother. The older woman was almost the mirror image of her short curvaceous daughter except for her lighter skin tone.

"Hello Sam, how are you?" She asked grabbing him for a hug in her caramel arms. He returned the hug.

When they started dating, the Jones family became like a second set of parents- even after he and Mercedes broke up their families still kept in contact. When they walked into each other in Lima Mrs. Jones would always hug as if he was one of her own and her father would shake his hand and give him a man-hug. At times, they would spend nearly an hour in the supermarket, catching up- he talking about his parents and siblings while they talked about Mercedes. They even invited him for dinner a few times but he would always decline because it was weird having dinner with his ex-girlfriend's parents when he was dating someone else.

"I'm good Mrs. J, is 'Cedes read-"

"Is that the pizza, I'm starving" Mr. Jones said walking out of the living room into the hallway. He gazed at Sam and smiled. "Hey, Sam you didn't see the pizza guy on you way in?"

Sam chuckled letting go of short stout woman.

"Unfortunately no, Mr. J. How are you?" He asked walking towards the man. He held out his hand for the man to shake.

"I'd do better if you were the pizza delivery guy."

He saw Mrs. J roll her eyes before closing the door.

"When do you not think about food?"

"When I'm asleep and don't hate, baby. I need nutrients to keep this figure you love so much." He said gesturing to his prodding belly hidden beneath a dark blue polo shirt he was wearing.

Sam chuckled at the man's antics as Mrs. Jones silently laughed at her husband muttering 'My own personal supermodel' under her breath. Their relationship reminded him so much of his parent's. He would love to have a relationship like that where they could joke with one another and still look at each other with the same love he saw his and Mercedes' parents look at their other half.

Mr. Jones led him to the living room and gestured for him to sit. The man walked over to the liquor cabinet in the corner of the dinning room linked to the living room. The home still looked like it did all those years ago- the same carpet, furniture and pictures lining the wall with the addition of Mercedes at her high school graduation squashed between her parents and grandparents he met that night.

"Would you like something to drink, Sam?"

Sam shook his head. Drinking in front of older people would always remain weird to him. And in all honesty he wanted to impress her parents and stumbling out of their house drunk before the date even started would not do that.

The man nodded as he poured himself a glass of whiskey. He walked over to his wife and sat next to her on the couch.

"So, Samuel, why did you choose teaching?" He asked.

"I-" Sam began but the man interrupted him.

"Do you enjoy it?"

"Yes-"

"How is the business doing?

"It's doing well, Sir. We just-"

"How are your parents-"

"Good-" Before he could answer with a full sentence Mr. Jones interrupted yet again.

"And Stacey and Stevie?"

"Good-"

"Okay, enough small talk let's get down to business." Mr. Jones said seriously taking a sip of the brown liquid

Sam did not correct him. They did not have a conversation at all. Mr. J just asked questions and did not give him chance to answer. He looked at Mrs. Jones to see her roll her eyes at her husband before getting up when the doorbell rang.

"Okay..." Sam said confused when he saw Mr. Jones raise a brow.

Suddenly he felt nervous. Maybe he should have accepted that drink after all.

"Where are you taking her?"

"To Breadsticks-"

"What will you be eating?"

"I don't know-"

"Will you be drinking?" He asked.

"I-"

"Mercedes is precious cargo. Are you really going to drive my daughter whilst intoxicated?"

"Of course no-"

"What are your intentions with my daughter for tonight young man?"

Sam swallowed. Did he just step in a time machine? He felt like a seventeen year old again. Before Sam could stammer out a reply to the man protecting his daughter's virtue Mr. Jones continued.

"What will happen after dinner?"

"I-I-"

"Will you be taking her to your apartment afterwards?" The man glared at him.

Was it hot in here or was it just him. He felt like he stepped in an inferno. His throat felt dry he felt like he was sweating in places people do not usually sweat. Before Sam could tell the man; 'No, I'm just taking you daughter out for dinner. She will still be a virgin when I bring her home.' Mr. Jones continued.

"My daughter is not some-"

Before the man could continue, a voice interrupted.

"Really Daddy?" She sighed rolling her eyes. "Do you have to be so dramatic?"

Sam failed to notice the dramatic pout Mr. Jones gave saying: 'You ruin my fun. I was just making him sweat.' His green gaze swept over every inch of the beauty leaning against the doorframe shaking her head at her father. She looked as gorgeous as always wearing a knee length black laced dress with sleeve. The dress accentuated her waist and hid her curves under its flowing material. Her shoes were red and matched the string of red flower-shaped crystals around her neck. Her medium length raven locks flew down her shoulders in waves. Her lips were painted red.

She looked ravishing.

"Hey, Sam." She said smiling at him brightly.

Sam heard Mr. Jones swallow a laugh at him gawking at Mercedes which brought him out of his stupor. He cleared his throat and stood up. He wiped his sweaty hands on his jeans as she walked towards him.

He was sure somebody turned on a heater. He felt warmth run through his body and his heart beating erratically in his chest. He really felt like a seventeen year old again taking the girl he liked to prom.

"We match." She said gesturing at the red accents in their outfits.

He chuckled awkwardly and rubbed the back of his neck just as Mrs. Jones walked in with a pizza in hand. She gushed when she saw them together in matching outfits making Mercedes rolled her eyes.

"Mom, you make it sound like we're going to prom."

She put the pizza down on the coffee table and clapped her hands looking at her father.

"Do you remember how cute they were at prom?"

Mercedes took Sam's arm eliciting tingles at the touch. She looked between her two parents and announced that they would be leaving before 'the two of them could get more awkward'. She felt embarrassed that her parents were sending her off like a teenager going on a first date. She was a woman of 25, for heaven's sake. She led him down the hall and out the front door. She let go of him to close the door before turning around

"Sorry about my dad. I swear at times he think I'm still a teenager." She apologized looking up at him with help of the porch light.

He smiled down at her opening his arms. She returned his smile and stepped forward into his opened arms wrapping her arms around his waist. He softly sighed as he squeezed her against him. He breathed her in closing his eyes at the familiarity of her short curvaceous body pressed against his.

"I missed you. Calls, text and video chatting are just not the same." He said as she let him go. His body immediately yearned for hers at the lost of her warmth and touch.

"I missed you too." She said losing herself in his gaze. After a few seconds of staring at him, she realized her slip up and looked at her shoes saying: "I missed everybody."

Wow, that stung.

He ignored the stung, painted a smile on his face, and offered her his arm. She snaked her arm around his and let him lead her down the steps to where his car stood parked in the driveway.

Like a true gentleman, he opened the car door for her before running around the back and getting in himself. He started the car and reversed out the driveway as Mercedes took control of the car radio. She stopped searching for a channel when she heard the ending of one of her songs.

Time and distance may pull us apart

But you memory will always remain in my heart

(Oh my heart)

And even though we've broken up

Cupid has spoken up

We're meant to be

Baby yes I'm talking about you and me

Forever and always

What we got is real

Baby let go and let's seal the deal

I'll stick with you until the world is ending

My last few moments, with you I'm spending

Oh yeah forever and always

Forever and always

Oh forever and always.

It's you (oh it's you) and me...

"Out of all your amazing songs that's my favorite song," Sam said as the music faded and the radio dj droned on over the fading background music. He turned right at a four-way stop.

Mercedes shyly bit her lip. That song was one of the songs she wrote when she and Sam broke up after they lived together in New York and she missed his presence. The song remained unrecorded and forgotten for years until she found it while packing up and moving to a new penthouse in an old songbook of hers.

"Mine too," She said playing with her fingers nervously. Why was she nervous? This was Sam. She did not have to be nervous around Sam. She quickly changed the subject. "It's still weird hearing my songs on the radio or on MTV even after all these years."

"Really? I think it is awesome. Some of my students get so excited discussing you and your latest song, there is this one junior- Kimberly- she is obsessed with you. I told them once we dated in high school and Kimberly raised an eyebrow and she snorts as if to say 'yeah right'."

"Ha-ha what did you say then?"

"I asked her why she doesn't think we dated and she said-" Sam changed his voice to a high pitch shrill. "-No offense Mr. Evans but Mercedes Jones is an amazing diva...and you're …you. She's fab and you're a dorky."

Mercedes laughed.

"I felt so insulted. The students do not think that we dated because I am too 'dorky'! Ah, I'm not a dork...right?"

Mercedes gave him a mock pout and rubbed his sleeved arm.

"If that lie keeps the bad dreams away-"

"Hey!"

She giggled. The rest of the ride to the restaurant was filled with them talking about the Glee members that still needed to arrive for the Glee reunion Saturday. They joked about Sue and her elected as vice-president, Mercedes joking that Sue would probably assassinate the president so that she could take his place next year.

Soon they arrived at Breadsticks. Sam ran to the other side of the car before Mercedes could open her door. She rolled her eyes when he opened the door and held out his arm for her to take. He locked the car and led her into the building that brought back so many fond memories.

She smiled looking up at him as they walked. He was still as gorgeous as ever. His face still radiated the boyish charm of his youth. His green eyes still shone with child-like excitement and mischief. She tightened her hold on his arm.

She really did miss him a lot. Sam was her confidant, her biggest supporter and shoulder to cry on. Even though they had miles between them, their friendship was still as strong as ever. At times weeks would pass before her schedule allowed them to talk and when they did it felt as if no time had passed at all. Things with Sam were effortless- they just got each other like no one else could even though they were polar opposites. Sam was Avatar she was Twilight. Sam was Country, she was R&B. Sam was goofy, she sensible. She was a diva he was ...well let us just call it what it is...a dork (a freaking cute dork at that). She would much rather go to a spa weekend whilst he would go camping and hiking. She was dramatic he was enthusiastic.

To the world they had nothing in common but what those people did not know about the phone calls 'till midnight, or the Skype movie nights where they would both watch the same movie on the TV- each with a bowl of popcorn in hand- and Sam would usually learn new impressions or would make sarcastic remarks as they watched. They did not know he texted her good luck before every single show she did or texted him good night every night.

Sam followed the waiter to a table and looked down at Mercedes who was lost in her own world. His soul mate (yeah, she was his soul mate even though she did not know it yet) was so lost in thought she missed the server having a mini squeal attack when she saw her. She snapped out of her hypnosis when they reached their table. She smiled at the star struck waiter and ordered a drink.

"She's probably in the kitchen dying now," Sam joked looking at the kitchen doors she just entered. Seconds later a group of faces looked through the round windows on the door. They gazed at Mercedes like she was an endangered animal.

Mercedes rolled her eyes and looked away from the door.

"So, how long are you staying?" Sam asked exploring her body with his eyes. The soft lights of the restaurant illuminated every inch of her exposed coco skin.

"I don't know." She answered playing with her hand. "I'm taking a break for a while."

Sam raised a brow.

"Why do I feel there is more to the story?"

Mercedes sighed and laced her fingers before resting her chin on her intertwined fingers and looking up at him through her thick lashes.

"I feel...I feel like something is missing."

"What do you mean?" Sam asked

"These past few years my music was enough for me. I was living my dream and it fulfilled me. My career was all I wanted but now not anymore." She said. "Don't get me wrong, I still love writing music and sharing it but it's not all I want anymore. I feel incomplete."

"What do you want?" Sam asked seriously.

"I think I'm ready to settle down and take a break from the music industry. I don't know...maybe start a family and in a few years I can make a comeback album- like Toni Braxton did." She said with a shrug. "Most of our friends are married and starting families- Rachel and Jesse, Klaine, Britanna and just between the two of us I still can't believe Santana chose to carry the baby. Anyhow, Tina and Artie are engaged, Puck and Quinn also. I want that too."

It took every fiber in Sam's body to jump and do a body roll. She wanted to settle down. She wanted to get married. She wanted to have children. Now if she would only want those things with him he would be the happiest man in the world.

Rather than making a fool of them both, he smiled at her.

"So when did you realize that?"

Mercedes shrugged. Sam leaned over the table and tucked a curl behind her ear. He lingered for a few seconds before pulling away.

Mercedes swallowed the lump that formed in her throat when his fingertips danced over her neck and jaw for a few seconds. That moment of contact was enough to cause tingles up her spine and warmth coursing through her veins. Sam was the only person that could ever elicit such feelings with a mere touch. Mercedes looked into his forest colored eyes losing herself in their beauty and depth.

"Huh?" She asked mesmerized when she noticed he said something whilst she was ogling him. She snapped out of it when she noticed the gleam in his eye and smirk on his face. She looked at her hands embarrassed.

"I asked when you realized you wanted settle down." Sam asked amused for the third time.

"Oh, I've been feeling like something was missing since the beginning of the tour. After every show, I felt… a void when I usually felt excited and on a high but I did not understand why. I was still in the middle of my world tour in France and Kurt and I were video chatting. Blaine was out so when Nicholas woke up from a nap he got him while we were talking and I watched them together. That is when I realized what was missing. I wanted that to."

Sam smiled.

"So how do you envision your future? How many kids do you want? Where do you want to live?" He fished.

"A big house- I know some people think just because I have money I'd want to live in a castle but that's not me. I want to live in a two or three-story house with a big yard and a massive pool. I want two large dogs to play with my three kids- two boys and a girl. I always wanted an older brother when I was younger to protect me, so I hope my daughter has one and a little brother too to tease and adore." Sam noticed her eyes light up when she spoke of her idealistic future. "I want to live in a small town. L.A and New York are awesome places but I don't want to raise my children in the madness of a big city. I have a small town heart-"

Before Mercedes could continue the star struck waitress come back with her Cranberry Cosmo and his beer. As Mercedes scanned the menu quickly for something to order, Sam could not help but stare at the beauty in front of him.

Sam wanted all she wanted and he wanted that with only her.

He smiled.

He and Mercedes were finally on the same page. Now all he had to do is convince her that he was the perfect guy for her...

* * *

 **I hope you enjoyed. Please review. Reviews motivate me**


	3. Chapter 3

**Emesteee1: Thank you and I agree! They could have at least given us that…or even a freaking Samcedes kiss on the damn cheek- anything really!**

 **Monni2215: I love Daddy Jones too!**

 **Tripple3JC, Neesha and other guest reviewers: Thank you for your kind words :)**

 **I do not own Glee or the characters.**

 **Here is chapter 3. I hope you enjoy:**

* * *

Sam wore a smile the next morning as he walked through the halls of McKinley. He was exhausted but that was not enough to steal his joy. The previous night's dinner with Mercedes was amazing. They were in the restaurant for nearly three hours before driving through the dark desolate streets of Lima until they reached the lake that held so many of their teenage memories. They sat on the dock on the lake talking for hours about all that happened since their last video chat. It reminded Sam of when they were dating the first time- he and Mercedes would meet up at the lake close to her house after his shifts at the pizzeria and they would spend hours talking about their day or just lie under the stars.

When the clock struck 2 O'clock, Sam unfortunately had to cut their time short for work in a few hours. He dropped her off at home and went back to his apartment. Once in bed he spent hours thinking about their conversation.

She finally wanted to settle down. She wanted children. The thought of being so close and having his dream of sharing a beautiful life with her so close in his reach made his blood rush with excitement.

Now all he needed was for her to see that she could have all those things with him. He needed to court her again and this time she would be his for keeps. There would be no distance and time between them to pull them apart. This time they could make it work. He knew it. The thoughts of Mercedes kept him up until four in the morning.

Even though he only got exactly two hours of sleep (before heading to Blaine, Kurt and Nick) and bloodshot eyes as a testament to that, he was whistling with joy as he entered his classroom.

The class was buzzing with chatter. The children were discussing all the stars of Lima returning for the Glee Reunion tomorrow. They were excitedly chatting about Lima's own Rachel Berry- Tony winning Broadway star, Kurt and Blaine Hummel-Anderson- the power couple of the LBGT community and R&B princess Mercedes Jones who were back in town.

A few of the kids raised their brows at the smiling zombie that resembled their young teacher but he ignored them. Nothing could bring him down from his post-Mercedes high.

"Okay, guys settle down." He said and took a gulp of his Lima Bean coffee.

The class listened to him, sat in their assigned seats, and quieted down as Sam searched his messenger bag for the work he prepared for his juniors. He heard someone obnoxiously clear his or her throat for attention making him look up to see a caramel arm in the air.

"Chanel?"

"I heard you and Mercedes Jones were spotted at Breadsticks last night."

That sentence started a chain reaction. The whole class started buzzing.

"I was there." Samantha- a redhead- said eagerly nodding.

"I didn't see you-" Sam began but a student named Kimberly interrupted him.

"I can't believe she went on a date with you! She's like a magical princess of diva fierceness and you belong in the Star Trek universe in a flock of nerds just like you."

"Hey-" That was hurtful.

"I heard they were kissing."

"No, we-" Sam tried talking only to be interrupted.

"I heard you two are secret lovers!"

Before Sam could try to answer Julia another girl interrupted

"I heard she's expecting your baby."

Sam choked on his own spit. He started coughing.

"I heard you two are getting married!"

As if.

Before the class could continue discussing his love life with Mercedes (which was nonexistent...for now), Sam raised a hand in the air waving it around as he sobered up from his coughing fit.

"Okay, guys these questions have nothing to do with music theory. Let's get back to the class."

Kimberly waved her thin coco arms in the air.

"Yes, Kimberly."

"Okay, as hard as it is for me to fathom why Mercedes dated you-"

"Hurtful." Sam muttered.

"-I need to know if she based a few of her songs around you and your relationship. Did she? And if she did which ones? I need to understand what was going on in her head."

Sam rolled his eyes.

"Okay, seriously guys." Sam turned on his 'adult'. "My personal life is not up for discussion. You are here to learn and I'm here to teach you. So, if you have any other questions for me to answer it better be about music." He sat down.

"But the questions I asked were about music. They were about Mercedes Jones' music." Kimberly said smugly.

Sam raised a brow.

"Oh, look who is trying to be cute and funny. Unfortunately, your test of Monday did not inherit your cuteness and humor. I suggest you focus more on actually listening to what I have to teach than working on you career as a comedian, Ms Dean." Sam said crossing his arms.

In all honesty, Sam has not marked their tests yet but hey, that was the first comeback that came to mind. On a side note, he should really mark those tests.

As interesting as Mercedes Jones was she would not get his students to pass his class. For now he locked away her memory until the end of the school day when he would meet up with her and most of old Glee-clubbers to listen to Vice President Sue Sylvester who wanted to talk to them all for some reason.

Kimberly shrunk in her seat as most the children in class pouted in frustration but obliged and took out their books.

* * *

After Sue's announcement- and suffering sexual harassment at the hands of one Becky Jackson, Sam found him in the auditorium in a manly embrace with Mike. Mike and Sam still kept in touch with one another after all these years. Besides Blaine (and by extension Kurt) Mike and Artie were the only old New Direction members Sam kept constant contact with. The rest of them were just acquaintances now who would sometimes comment (or insult in Santana's case) on a few of his Facebook statuses or sent him birthday messages on his birthday and vice versa.

The two young men stood in the sidelines watching the rest of the club interact with one another. Soon both their gazes fell to Tina and Mercedes linking arms laughing in a corner with Unique.

"Not that I'm not happy for Tina and Artie but I kinda thought you two would be endgame." Sam told Mike honestly. He thought in high school Tike was the real deal.

Mike shrugged.

"In high school I thought so too but after high school people change, you know? You really find your true identity in adulthood. Tina and I just grew apart. She'll always have a special place in my heart- she's my first true love so that's a given." Mike said before looking back at Sam and changing the subject to him and his ex. "So, you and Mercedes, what's going on?"

"Nothing." Sam said clearing his throat. He did not want to count his chickens before they hatched…or was it eggs.

Mike raised a brow. "So, no Samcedes in the future?"

Sam raised a brow.

"Wait-what-how?"

Mike rolled his eyes.

"I was on tour with her for four months, Sam. She always talked about you. I thought you two would maybe rekindle you relationship now that she's back."

"Really?" Sam asked. Mike nodded. "Everybody said we never had chemistry when we started dating in New York again. Even Sue said our sexual tension was 'implausible'"

"Well, I could see that chemistry. Just because the two of you weren't constantly sucking face in public like ever other high school couple does not mean you did not have chemistry." Mike said. "In all honesty out of all the Glee relationship yours were the most mature. You guys never broke up for the foolish teenage reasons like one cheating on the other or a higher seat in the social hierarchy of high school. Adult reason like distance and the whole celibacy thing were the reasons you broke up-"

Sam raised a brow that Mike noticed and replied to with a shrug.

"We spent months together on tour- we bonded."

Sam threw him a suspicious look making Mike raise his hands in surrender.

"Hey nothing happened. Mikecedes almost happened but then we shook some sense into one another and got over our infatuation. Plus Mercedes is all 'single ladyish' these past few years, like you have noticed."

Sam let it go and nodded. As long as Mike did not have any more feelings for Mercedes then their bromance was still intact.

Mike was right about Mercedes being all 'single ladyish'. The last relationship she had- which he read in a tabloid- was with a reformed bad boy R&B artist named All Grey Skies (birth named Conner Allan Grey) and that was two and a half years ago.

"So you and Mercedes?" Mike continued to fish.

"She wants to settle down, I want to settle down. We are like best friends at the moment even with all our history but I want more than that. I know Mercedes and I are endgame and I just want her to see it too but I do not know how to...to approach her. I can't walk up to her and be all; 'So, Mercedes want to carry my children someday?' and kiss her senseless."

They heard a laugh behind them and turned to see Blaine walking towards them.

"I don't think Mercedes would go for that." He focused his attention to Mike and gave him a man-hug.

"How much did you hear?" Sam asked embarrassed rubbing the back of is neck as his cheeks redden.

"So you really wanna try things with Mercedes again?" Blaine asks glancing at the girl in question over Sam's shoulder standing next to Santana posing for a selfie with Santana and Britney- who had her arm wrapped around Santana's small baby belly

Sam nodded.

"Yeah man she's it for me. She's always been the one for me."

"I just want you to be happy and if Mercedes makes you happy then go for it." Blaine said with a smile. "Plus Nick needs some friends and in all honesty I want to see how the Samcedes babies will look. I want my kid to have good-looking friends, Sam."

Sam and Mike laughed.

"So what's the plan?" Blaine asked. "How are you going to get her back?"

Sam sighed.

"I don't know." He sighed. "I don't know."

* * *

The original New Directions members (with Sam, Blaine and Jesse of course) were all nestled around a small fire in the fireplace on Hummel's patio. All the couples were snuggled together under blankets as they talked. As luck would have it Mercedes sat snuggled with a cup of hot coco next to him, pulling faces at Nicholas resting on Blaine's lap. The tired baby gave her a sleepy smile. He woke up from his sleep an hour ago refusing to go back to sleep again.

Sam stared at her. The orange light of the fire illuminated her chocolate skin with an unearthly glow. He could feel her warmth through his sleeved shirt and shared blanket. He was so lost in the spell of her presence he failed to notice the look Blaine and Mike shared.

"So, Mike when are you going back to L.A?" Artie asked making Sam realize that he and Mercedes were not alone.

"Tomorrow night actually. My business partner and I are officially opening our dance studio Monday."

Artie gave him in impressed look and clapped his hands as the others congratulated him on his business venture.

"And you, Mercedes? Any hot guy waiting for you in L.A? I read online there is something brewing between you and the guy who was the opening act for your tour, Angelo Cruz, right? He is super hot-" Tina began her line of questioning.

Blaine and Mike both coughed trying to wordlessly tell the girl to stop but as always Tina did not heed the subtle warnings and looked at the two men like they were crazy. Mercedes smiled.

"Yeah, he is cute but he isn't really my type. He is like the teenage version of Puck- whoremonal and bigheaded."

"Hey! If I remember correctly you dated me!" Puck cried next to Quinn who rolled her eyes at her fiancé's outburst when he knew it was the truth .

"I wouldn't call that week long ' _thing'_ we had us dating. I just felt sorry for you, 'Puckasaurus'." Mercedes said and winked at him. "That was an awful nickname."

"Whatever Wheezy." Puck said rolling his eyes.

"Well at least you all had creative nicknames. I was girl Chang or the other Asian." Tina pouted only to receive a kiss from her fiancé on the cheek.

"They weren't really nicknames; they were insults from Sue." Santana

Kurt groaned.

"Urgh, those awful names Sue called us. Thank heavens there's no one to still call me Porcelain."

The group grew quiet. Some bit their lips or pursed their mouths looking anywhere but Kurt.

Kurt studied their faces.

"Why is there an ominous silence all of a sudden?"

Puck was the first to speak after the brief silence.

"I call you Porcelain."

Santana added.

"I vary between Porcelain and Lady Hummel."

Kurt opened his mouth in shock and to protest.

Tina raised a hand.

"It's a catchy nickname."

"Jesse calls you that all the time." Rachel threw in.

"It is." Mercedes said shyly before taking a sip of her coco.

Kurt gasped at one of his best friends before looking at Blaine who gave him a small guilty smile.

"You knew?"

Blaine shrugged with a small smile making Kurt pout and throw his hands in the air.

The rest of the group laughed at his dramatic antics. After everybody calmed down, Tina spoke again:

"I still think Kentucky Fried Stripper was the best Sue 'nickname' ever."

The group burst out in laughter as Sam rolled his eyes taking a gulp of his beer. Mercedes chuckled and bumped the sulking man's shoulder.

"Whatever, _Girl Chang."_ Sam muttered only to receive a glare from her making him shrink a little. Mercedes laughed and looked at her watch with a yawn.

"Girls and boys as much as I do enjoy your company- I have to get going now. It's 1am and I have plans before the reunion BBQ tomorrow so I gotta wake up early."

"Ooh," Tina cooed wiggling her eyebrows.

Mercedes rolled her eyes.

"It's a church thing, Tina, church thing."

The group chuckled at Tina's embarrassment shinning on her face.

"Puck, I think we better head off too-we have breakfast with our parents at 9."

"Yeah guys, I'm beat too. I had a late night last night and I need some sleep." Sam said placing his empty bottle on the table.

"I thought you and Jamba Juice girl broke up or was it a new girl? Heavens knows Sam Evans you go through girls like Bruce Willis through guns in those violent _Die Hard_ movies I have no idea people can swallow watching. You have a new girlfriend every second week-"

"Okay, Kurt thank you for that," Blaine said slowly noticing the _'Did you just really say that look?'_ on Sam's face.

Sam noticed the look on Mercedes' face- she looked crestfallen. Before Sam or any other person could talk Mercedes spoke.

"Quinn, Puck you guys mind giving me a lift home?" Mercedes asked the engaged couple. Before they could respond though, Sam spoke.

"I'll take you." Noticing that he spoke too soon and sounded too enthusiastic Sam cleared his throat before trying to sound cool and collected. "Yeah, I'll take you. Your place is on my way home anyway...so I might as well take you." He shrugged trying to play it cool as the guys failed at swallowing laughs at Sam's expense.

"Okay, if you're sure." Mercedes said hesitant. Mercedes hugged all her high school friends goodnight before kissing Nicholas on the cheek.

"I'll see you guys tomorrow." Mercedes said as Sam greeted the others.

The two left the group sitting around the fire. Sam led her down the narrow pathway leading to the front of the house where Sam's car stood parked. Sam unlocked the car for both of them to climb in and seek shelter against the cool air. Mercedes turned on the heater as Sam reversed out of the driveway.

In the air an uncomfortable suffocating deafening silence hung. Sam spared a glance at Mercedes who was playing with her fingers and biting her lip- a tell tale that she wanted to say something but she was unsure.

They drove in awkward silence for about four minutes until Sam sighed unable to take the loud shrieks of awkward in the darkness of the car.

 _'Thank you, Kurt!_ '-Sam thought sarcastically. Kurt just had to talk about his love life.

He pulled a hand though his blonde locks, which were in need of a cut. He drove down the deserted streets of Lima thinking of ways to approach Mercedes about what Kurt said..

"Sam, I-"

"I'm not-"

They both began at the same time.

"You go first." Sam said patiently.

Mercedes let out a breath before talking. She sounded uncomfortable as she spoke.

"I didn't know you were in a relationship. I do not want to cause problems between you and your girlfriend. I know I would not be very happy if my boyfriend was out to dinner with his ex-girlfriend who also happens to be a very close friend. I don't wanna-"

"I'm not dating anybody, Mercedes and even if I were we wouldn't have been serious- I don't do serious relationships."

Once the words left his mouth and found his ear Sam realized how wrong those words sounded. He sounded like a jerk. Seriously- 'I don't do serious relationships.' He sounded like a player. He clenched his jaw in irritation at himself. He spared a glance at Mercedes who sat staring at him with a raised brow.

 _'Nice going, Sam.'-_ He thought rolling his eyes at himself.

"I-I don't mean it like that. I-I-I would never cheat if I had a girlfriend-, which I don't have by the way. And I-I didn't mean it when I said I don't do serious relationships..."He paused before correcting himself. "Okay, I meant it..." Damn it, Sam you were just in the clear. "I-I meant-"

Mercedes raised a hand giving him a fake tight smile.

"Sam, you don't have to explain anything to me." She said. "You're your own person and your love life has nothing to do with me."

Sam stopped the car in front of her home.

"Mercedes that came out wrong-"

"Sam, you don't have to explain anything. I was not sure if you still had a girlfriend who would be upset about last night. But you don't so, I guess all is well." Mercedes said opening the car door and placing a foot on the gravel ready to get out. Sam grabbed her upper arm to stop her from leaving. Her exposed skin felt so soft in his palms.

Sam shook his head- now was not the time to think about Mercedes' soft skin. He had to convince the girl he loved that he did not have commitment issues or played around with girl's emotions.

"Sam-"

"No, I'm not going to let you walk away with your _'I'm-judging- you'_ face until I clear everything up-"

"I don't have an _'I'm judging you'_ face. This is just my face." Mercedes defended her face.

"Oh so you mean to tell me you walk around looking like you are judging people constantly?"

Mercedes rolled her eyes.

"Whatever. Look I have to go-"

"Did you not hear me say you're not leaving until I'm done talking?" Sam asked.

"Excuse me?" She asked raising a brow at the attitude in his voice. "You did not just-"

"Okay, Mercedes the whole 'confident diva thing' it's totally hot 89 percent of the time but the other 11 is sickeningly annoying. So, I need you sit and listen now."

Mercedes closed her mouth and closed the door. Bossy, in control Sam was extremely hot- annoying but super hot at the same time. There was something about Sam channeling a serious manly voice, which she found arousing.

"Thank you." Sam said. "You don't have to act as if what people say or think about things concerning you does not bother you when you're with me, Mercedes. You do not have to put on the confident, I will survive facade around me. I know you are a strong and intelligent woman but I also know you're sensitive and have doubts so that facade does not work on me." Sam said getting down to business. "I saw the look you had on your face when Kurt asked about my relationship status. What was that?"

"Sam, that was nothing-"

"It was not _'nothing'_." Sam cried. "You know you can tell me anything, 'Cedes. Anything-"

"Sam please stop." Mercedes whispered.

How was she supposed to tell him that she was hurt and jealous about the whole Jamba Juice girl when she does not understand it herself? She and Sam broke up years ago, they were best friends now, and she loved him. Like she sang years ago- She would always love him.

"No." He said stubbornly. "If I'm right then it means that you were jealous and disappointed."

"Sam-"

"-And if I'm right about that then it means that I would be right if I presumed you still have feelings for me?"

"Sam-"

She was in no mood to embarrass herself in front of Sam like this. She was about to get out when she heard him say;

"-Because I still have feelings for you too" Sam.

She gasped looking up at him. Sam swept away her fringe so that he could see every inch of her face. She looked down to avoid his gaze making him lift her head with his fingertip. Sam studied her beautiful uncertain eyes.

"I-I have more than just feelings for you Mercedes. I love you- I have always loved you. The reason things never worked out with other girls is because they aren't you, Mercedes." Sam said honestly running his fingers down her jaw marking her with his touch.

"It's been over 5 years, Sam." Mercedes whispered looking down. Sam gently lifted her jaw so that she could look at him at see the honesty in his eyes.

"Time and distance will never change how I feel about you, Mercedes. I've loved you for years." He whispered. "I want all you want too. I want to get married. I want a big house. I want a dog we can name McConaughey 2.0.-," Mercedes laughed at that. "I want children- like a lot of them. I want-" He took a deep breath. "I want you, Mercedes."

He did not plan to tell her all of this tonight. He wanted to do this whole romantic gesture and lead her into a prospective relationship with him but now he was baring it all for her. He was making himself vulnerable.

He could still see the uncertainty burning in her eyes.

"'Cedes, I love you."

She sighed.

"Sam, the first time we were together it was distance; the last time it was the sex-thing, which is still going to be a problem-"

"First of all, you were the one to break us up every single time, Mercedes- you always made the decision for us. Secondly, I am not a hormonal 19-year old. I'll wait for you because you are worth the wait." She looked unconvinced making Sam sigh. "Mercedes, why don't you believe me?"

She bit her lip closing her eyes.

"Sam, things have happened these past few years. And trusting another guy after he..." She began but stopped before letting too much slip and continuing "...it's scary. I know you're not him but it's still scary, Sam." She looked down. "I need you to be patient with me, okay? Can you do that for me? Can we take this slow?"

Sam could feel his body heat up in anger at the mention of somebody hurting his 'Cedes. He took a deep breath to calm himself until later when she was not near enough to see his anger.

"Who hurt you and what did he do to you?" Sam asked gently holding her face in both his hands. She closed her eyes losing herself in his touch.

"I don't want to talk about it now, Sam."

She did not want to revisit those heartbreaking memories tonight after such a happy night with her friends. She opened her eyes when she felt his lips touch her forehead. Immediately, warmth spread through her soul. Electricity ran through her veins. Her heart drummed in her chest.

He pulled away to look into her eyes.

"I'll be patient but we will have this conversation again. Got it?" He said seriously. The look in his eyes told her he was not letting it go.

She nodded with a small smile.

Sam pressed his lip to her cheeks. He pulled away before he gave in to the urge of burying his face in her neck and losing himself in her scent. She smelled like apples. He liked apples.

"I'll pick you up tomorrow." He kissed her forehead again. "I love you."

She pressed her palm against his cheek gently caressing the soft skin.

"I love you too."

She opened the door and got out the car before running up the steps towards the front door. Once she unlocked it, she turned to Sam to wave good night before disappearing into the house with a smile on her face.

Outside Sam started the car and watched the door, the girl he loved, disappeared behind closed. He was so happy that things between him and Mercedes were starting to move along but all he could think about now was the fact that somebody hurt her. Somebody she cared about hurt her badly and broke her trust. He could feel anger burning in his veins at the thought and causing him to tighten his hands around the steering wheel. Sam felt like hitting something...or rather someone.

He took a deep calming breath before putting the car in gear. He needed to calm down and think of the positives of tonight- Mercedes loved him.

She loved him and for tonight that would be all he thought about...

* * *

 **Now we can start getting into the story! I hope you all enjoyed. Reviews are welcomed a**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hello people of the world :) I'm back and I hope you enjoy this chapter. In this chapter, I refer to chapter 3 of my Samcedes Song One Shots- the tilt-whirl scene I wrote**.

 **Lamimi25: Thank you and I'm so glad you're enjoying the story so far.**

 **Booksrule: Thank you!**

 **Zeejack: (0.o) That was passionate, lol! Thanks for the review :)**

 **Monni2215: Thanks for the review and I agree Mercedes is almost never as invested in the relationship as Sam is.**

 **Zini:Oh my soul thank you for those kind words. I hope you enjoy what is still to come as well.**

 **Tripple3JC: Be patient love :) Grey will make an appearance in here too and then all will be explained (or most of it anyhow).**

 **Marie and Jennifer: You will just have to read further to find out what happened to Mercedes ;)**

 **Emestee1: Thanks for the kind words. I'm really glad you're enjoying the story thus far- hopefully I don't disappoint with the future chapters**

 **Hope you all enjoy.**

* * *

"Hey."

"Hey."

Mercedes leaned against the doorframe looking up at Sam- as dapper as ever. She returned home from a church fundraiser a few minutes ago. She thoroughly enjoyed seeing the members of her congregation and all the people who watched her grow up. She felt so loved and at home. The members of the church- just like her Glee family- did not treat her different because of her fame. In L.A, people who wanted to befriend her for a slice of fame constantly surrounded her. It was so refreshing having no one care about what she could do for them and love and care for her. The top was truly a lonely place in the big city.

"You look pretty- you always look pretty." Sam said drinking her in with his green eyes.

Immediately, every inch of her skin he touched with his gaze heat up.

"Well, you do look quite dashing, Mr. Evans"

He smirked and shrugged

"It's a curse looking this good."

Mercedes laughed rolling her eyes at his playful vanity. Sam hovered over her looking into her beautiful dark orbs wordlessly asking her for permission to kiss her. She in turn, stood on her tiptoes making him lean down and press his lips to hers for a gentle kiss.

Burst of color and passion imploded inside her soul. Warmth spread through her being. Her heart felt alive with color, passion and need. She was not going to lie she kissed some frogs these past few years and their kisses had nothing on Sam's. It was as if his lips were designed to mold with hers. His touch, his kiss...was magical.

Sam was about to deepen the kiss when he heard someone clear their throat.

 _'Busted'_ he thought.

He froze with his lips still on Mercedes' lips. He opened his eyes to see Mercedes staring at him in the same shock before he glanced to the side to see Mr. Jones raising a brow with his arms crossed over his chest. A crimson dust swept over his cheeks and ears before he pulled away from his girlfriend in embarrassment.

Mr. J seriously made him feel like a seventeen-year old again.

"No continue. Please ignore my presence as I walk pass you to get the paper I forgot to get this morning." Mr. Jones said trying to hide his amusement at the look on Sam's face. The boy looked like he wanted the earth to swallow him whole.

The older man walked towards the young couple deliberately walking between them to get out of the door making Sam stand on his toes and suck in his stomach so that the man could pass between the small space between him and Mercedes. He walked unto the driveway and picked up the newspaper before again walking through the happy couple even though it was a tight fit. Once he was inside the house and a few footsteps away from the couple, he turned on his heels and gesturing for them to continue before turning around and shouting:

"Sheryl, you owe me a full body massage. I won the bet! I told you they would be together in seven days or less!"

"What! Noooooooooo! I thought two weeks!" A voice shouted from upstairs.

Sam and Mercedes looked at each other in confusion and shock. A part of him was ecstatic that her parents supported their relationship.

"I caught them smooching like it's the end of the world. I never felt so uncomfortable in my life-"

"Whatever Dad."

"-Seriously who kisses like that in public?-"

"That was an innocent peck." Mercedes said.

Again, her father ignored her and kept on shouting to her mother.

"We didn't kiss like that in a public space when we were young!"

Mercedes rolled her eyes as her mother walked down the stairs.

"You two suck face all the time and by the way this is private property."

"This is my private property so I'm allowed to suck face with whomever I want, thank you very much." He father sang.

"Excuse me?" Sheryl asked her husband raising a brow.

"I didn't mean it like that. Your face is the only one I wanna suck."

"Okay, please stop talking now that sounded so wrong." Mercedes groaned at the images of her parents making out.

Her dad rolled his eyes before focusing his gaze on Sam.

"You and I-" He gestured between them. "-need have a talk some time in future, young man."

"Yes sir." Sam said with a nod rubbing the back of his neck in embarrassment because everybody was looking at him now.

"No hanky panky with my daughter."

"Dad." Mercedes growled embarrassed glaring at her father.

"What? I just don't want any caramel grandchildren out of wedlock, that's all I'm saying." He said innocently.

"Mom, deal with Daddy." Mercedes said grabbing Sam's arm as her father laughed. Her mother hit him in the gut gently with an amused smile adorning her face.

"I'm just kidding. Do you all have to be so sensitive?"

Mercedes rolled his eyes.

"We're leaving now. I'll see you guys later."

She led Sam out the house as far away from her father as possible before he could embarrass them both any further.

"Sorry about my dad." Mercedes sighed as Sam led her towards his car.

"It's okay. At least he supports our relationship." Sam said unlocking the car. "Speaking of our relationship how are we going to tell the others?" Sam asked getting in the car.

"Maybe we can hire a blimp with the word 'Samcedes' followed by a heart. It can fly over Lima for the day." Mercedes joked making Sam laugh as he reversed out of the driveway.

Once he was on the road he took her small hand in his resting it on his thigh. Something as simple as holding her hand made his body react with ecstasy.

"I was thinking we could leave the reunion early since we spent time with most of them last night."

"Sure, what do you wanna do afterwards then?" Mercedes asked.

Sam kissed her fingers.

"We could...wait for it...go on a date since we are a couple."

Mercedes rolled her eyes with a smile on her face.

"Wow, shocking. Somewhere in China a butterfly just imploded from shock."

Sam rolled his eyes grinning.

They spent the rest of the ride joking around as they played 'I Spy'. It may have been childish but it was fun. 10 minutes later they arrived at the park where wooden tables and chairs were scattered. Mr. Schue, Puck and Jake were manning the grill station. A few girls and Kurt were placing bowls of salads and desserts on an extra long table laughing as they worked.

The couple walked towards the group holding hands. A few people Mercedes knew- and other younger ex glee members she did not recognized were staring at the couple in surprise. Once they were over the initial shock of seeing Sam and Mercedes together a few them- who did not know Mercedes personally- congratulated Mercedes on her success in the music industry. Whilst Mercedes was bombarded with questions Sam went to get them something to drink in the cooler at the table the girls and Kurt were using. Kurt raised a brow but said nothing as Sam took out a Coke for himself (he still had a lot of planned for today and he wanted to be sober) and Mercedes since she was not a heavy drinker after the whole Rachel party and throwing up in public. Sam walked back to Mercedes and pulled her away from the small crowd of people who were in the Glee club years ago.

Mercedes greeted Kurt and the girls.

"Where is Rachel?"

Kurt rolled his eyes.

"Busy signing autographs because-and I quote: 'being Broadway star doesn't take a break not even for reunions'." He turned his attention to Sam. "Blaine and Artie are unloading a few things from the car if you're wondering..."

That was Kurt's way of saying 'leave please' in charming manner. Sam got the memo and kissed Mercedes on the cheek before disappearing to find Blaine.

"Okay, when did that-" Kurt gestured to a disappearing Sam "-happen?" He asked.

"I wanna know too." Tina said next to Kurt.

Kurt continued ignoring Tina's interruption.

"Sam was still dating 'Juice Girl' five days ago and now you two are together? Look, I love him but I love you more and I don't want you to be a rebound for him-"

"Kurt, I love you too and I know you care but you really got to butt out of my relationship."

"Ooooh, snap." Tina whispered before taking a gulp of her drink and enjoying the show about to start. A part of her was proud of Mercedes for sticking up for their relationship and telling Kurt to butt out.

Kurt gasped at the irritated tone of his best friend. Here he was trying to protect her from the endless cycle of the confusion of the Samcedes relationship. Seriously, one moment they were together the next they would break-up. Plus there was the fact that Sam was not emotionally mature at all- the fact that he has never been in a relationship that lasted more than three months and that he still watched Spongebob was a testament to that. Mercedes needed someone mature. She needed a person that could handle the pressure that came with a relationship in the spotlight.

Do not get Kurt wrong, he did love Sam- like a brother in law. Because of 'Blam's' close relationship, the blonde grew on him. Even though Kurt loved him did not mean that he was blind to his commitment issues. Kurt just did not want his best friend to get hurt, that is all.

Mercedes sighed seeing the hurt expression on her best friend's face.

"Kurt, I didn't mean it like that. You are making it sound like Sam and I just walked into each other on the street and decided to just give it a go. We have known each other for eight years, Kurt. Even though we have history, we remained friends through all these years so we know each other…we just get each other. I know you are trying to protect my heart but you do not have to. Like seriously, as if Sam would hurt me purposely?"

"I know he wouldn't. I just do not want you both to get hurt if things don't work out. It will be awkward since you both are Nick's godparents."

Tina interjected.

"Kurt. you're making it sound like Sam was the one who broke up with her each time. If I remember correctly Mercedes, no offense love, was the one to break them up every time once things got tough."

Mercedes threw the Asian woman a glare.

"I call it like I see it." Tina said with a shrug before taking another gulp of the lemonade.

Mercedes rolled her eyes hooking her arm through Kurt's.

"When have things between me and Sam ever been awkward? Stop having so little faith in us- I kinda feel offended now," Mercedes said with a chuckle even though it was true.

Kurt raised his hands in surrender.

"Fine I'll let it go. But if Kentucky Fried Stripper-" Mercedes and Tina giggled. "-Messes this up I have a tub of hair removal cream with his name on- and I'm not just talking about his blond locks, I'm talking about eyebrows, leg hair the works. He'll look like a naked mole-rat when I'm done with him."

"Remind me never to get on your bad side," Tina muttered.

Kurt shrugged before grabbing Tina's arm and leading the girls away from the table.

"Anyhow, I'm in need of a good gossip session, ladies…"

* * *

"I haven't been at an amusement park in years." Mercedes told her boyfriend as they walked through the lit park illuminating the dark skies with vibrant colors.

Sam and Mercedes told their friends goodbye a few hours ago so that they could spend some time together alone.

Sam looked down at his girlfriend who was hiding her identity with a black fedora and thick-rimmed Superman inspired glasses. That was Sam's idea. Of course Mercedes eyed the glasses and told Sam it would never work but his response was: "If it worked for Superman it will work for you." Thus far, it was working- there were no fans trying to stop her for autographs or selfies while they were on their date. Mercedes said the only reason people weren't approaching her was because they didn't think she- a superstar would be in town among them but Sam knew it was the glasses...the glasses that made her look like a naughty librarian. He voiced his thought of her with those glasses on only to receive a punch on the shoulder whilst she bit her lip to keep herself from smiling

"The last time I was here was in senior year for ditch day."

Mercedes nodded before smiling.

"Do you still remember that date we had years ago when you brought me here?"

Sam smiled and nodded. That date was one of his fondest memories. It was also the night he realized he loved her for the first time.

"That was fun but the best part will always remain the tilt-a-whirl and your epic fight with the Man-O-Meter only to lose."

Sam groaned throwing his arm around her shoulders leading her towards the food court to quench his thirst.

"When are you ever going to let that go?"

"Never, Little Mama's Baby." Mercedes said with a smirk.

Sam rolled his eyes.

"I still have Garfield, you know. He goes with me on tour all the time."

"Really?" He asked. "So, you always had a little piece of me with you."

"Yip," she said looking up at him.

He kissed the top of head.

"Well, I've always had a piece of you with me to." He pointed at his heart. "Right here."

"You are such a cornball, Sam Evans." Mercedes said pouting. "You just had to one-up me."

"Oh you love my corny ways." He smirked leading her to a vendor selling drinks. He bought them a belly buster raspberry slushie to share before leading her to a table. He sat next to her resting his arm on the back of her chair as she took a gulp of the drink. She rested her head on his shoulder handing him the drink.

"I forgot to tell you, I'm heading off to LA in a few weeks. There is a charity I am linked to and it has an annual fundraiser so I have to be there. I'll be there for a week before I come back."

Sam nodded putting their shared drink down on the table.

"You need a date?" Sam asked inviting himself.

Mercedes bit her lip. How was she supposed to explain this?

Sam saw the look in her eyes and groaned.

"Mercedes, not this again. What is it with you and keeping our relationship a secret? Like, seriously?" Sam asked. He was sick of this.

"It's not that, Sam. You don't understand-"

"Please, enlighten me?" Sam cried throwing his arms in the air. They have not been a couple for 24 hours yet and already they were fighting over something stupid.

"I don't like mixing my personal life with my work, okay. I am constantly under the scrutiny of others; I am constantly talked about and seen in public. I have little privacy. The little privacy I have is my relationships with my friends and family and I don't want to share that with others. I've seen how fame and fortune can ruin even the best of relationships and I don't want that." She sighed. "I don't want my personal life and my work to entwine, Sam. The only reason I have twitter is to communicate with fans and the only people I follow are those who are also in the media. I don't post personal pictures on social media of my family or friends who are not celebrities because they are all I have left in my life that are private."

She lifted her hand to cup his cheek.

"I'm not ashamed of you, Sam and I'm not ashamed of our relationship- don't ever think that. I just do not feel the need to share it with the world when all the important people already know. And I don't want to expose you to more madness of fame than you'll already experience dating me. Do you understand that?"

Sam sighed. Yeah, he understood where she was coming from with the privacy thing but he hated that yet again she was making the decision for them both. How did she know he could not handle the crazy that came with being a couple in the spotlight? If any relationship could handle it- it would be theirs. He knew pop culture; in a week or two people will find something new to prickle their short attention span and forget about them.

Sam looked into his girl's big brown eyes begging him to let it go. He decided to swallow his comment for now but he was not going to let it go. This was not the end of this discussion. The only reason he was not ranting was because he did not want to ruin their date.

"Fine-"

Mercedes pecked him on the lips before grabbing the drink and standing up. She held out her hand for Sam to take as she took a gulp of their drink. He eyed her questioningly but took her hand anyway.

"I want my boyfriend to win me a stuffed animal- Garfield is lonely. Even green and black stuffed tigers need love, Sam. You have to win Gar a girlfriend." Sam laughed wrapping his arm around Mercedes.

She securely snaked her arm around his waist as they walked through the crowds of people..

"Remember all those years ago you said the reason you scored _'Little Mama's Baby'_ on the Man-O-Meter was because you were still a little dizzy from the tilt-a-whirl? Well today is your rematch- the match of the century and the prize is the masculinity you lost that night." Mercedes joked causing Sam to roll his eyes.

"Whatever, Mercedes. This-" He gestured to his tall toned body. "-is all man."

Mercedes rolled her eyes at his vanity before giving him the drink before she drank it all.

Sam handed her back the cup once they arrived at the machine. Sam dramatically stretched and rolled up his sleeves before taking the cartoon-sized mallet and lifting it over his head.

"For my honor!" He shouted before letting out a war cry that sounded like a turkey dying as he brought the mallet down.

Mercedes chuckled shaking her head.

The machine dinged:

 _'Macho Man!'_

Mercedes laughed clapping her hands as Sam bowed before lifting his arms over his head and staring at his girlfriend with a victorious grin. Mercedes knew what that move meant- her boyfriend was about to embarrass himself

"Sam don't-"

"Mercedes, I have to. This occasion needs to be celebrated with a body roll"

"Sam-" before she could continue her sentence Sam did a few body rolls smirking at her.

She shook her head chuckling as she said:

"That thing is still as sad as it was years ago."

"Stop lying, Mercedes, I seduced you with that body roll."

She patted his shoulder with her free hand smiling sadly.

"If that keeps the bad dreams away..."

Sam rolled his eyes telling her to pick a stuffed animal. She chose pink lion with a tiara on its head.

They walked away hand in hand through the amusement park playing games against one another since they've been on every single ride- even the kiddies rides because Sam wanted to 'relive his youth' to which Mercedes rolled her eyes. An hour later, the couple made their way towards Sam's car each with a bunch of stuffed animals in their hands they were going to give to Nick.

On their drive home, they sang along with the radio even throwing a few arm movements in there as well. Sam asked if she wanted to head over to his apartment for late night coffee but she declined because she had church in the morning, which she invited him to, and he agreed.

"Will you join us for dinner tomorrow-"She looked at her watch. "-or rather later?" She asked once he stopped in her driveway

"Sorry, babe I can't. Sunday afternoons and nights are usually when I prepare my work for all my classes and I have tests to mark. Maybe some other day." He said kissing her hand.

She nodded with a yawn.

"You know since I've been in town I've missing my beauty sleep and it's all your fault."

"You don't need any, you're already beautiful." He said slyly

Mercedes cheeks warmed up.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever Casanova."

Sam shrugged to pleading no contest against the metaphor. The couple got out the car and walked towards the front porch hand in hand. They stopped in front of the door looking at one another.

"You know, since we've been dating-"

"-Which is exactly 25 hours now." Mercedes interjected as Sam wrapped an arm around her waist. "Is it weird that we have only been dating for a few hours officially but everything feels so...so..." She searched for the right word as Sam pulled her closer.

"-Right." He finished for her resting his forehead against hers.

She smiled up at him.

"Yeah, right." she agreed wrapping her arms around his neck. "What were you saying before I so rudely interrupted you?" She asked.

"Since we've been dating again we haven't had our first real kiss yet."

"Oh, is that so?" She said seductively.

"Hmm." He agreed grazing his lips against hers. Her warm breath caressed his pink lips.

"This afternoon your dad interrupted-"

"Again sorry about that-" She said embarrassed. Sometime she thought her dad was sadistic. Seriously, what human being deprives his joy from embarrassing his daughter?

"-And you're not a fan of PDA so I did not have a chance to kiss the socks off you yet."

"Is that so?" Mercedes asked closing her eyes as his lips moved against hers when he spoke.

"Hmm." He whispered closing his eyes.

He pressed his lips more firmly against hers and led their mouths in a slow dance before slipping her tongue inside her mouth and tasting her for the first time in years. She tasted like the raspberry slushie they shared earlier. He caressed her tongue with his. Slowly the kiss became more passionate as the two lovers made up for lost time. Sam pressed her tightly against him- his body seeking more of her. He pressed her against the front door as he kissed her with everything he had.

Mercedes laced her fingers through Sam's blond locks standing on the tip of her toes. Every inch of her body felt warm. Explosions of ecstasy burst in her soul. Volts of electricity ran through her veins making her feel alive. She kissed a few guys after she and Sam broke up and their kisses failed to compare to Sam's. It is like her body and soul erupted when he touched or kissed her.

The need for air drove them apart. Sam rested his forehead against hers panting as his lungs searched for much needed oxygen. He opened his eyes to see her standing with her eyes closed basking at the intimacy of the moment. He kissed the bridge of her nose making her open her eyes. A smile graced her lips. Her fingers slid from his hair to the back of his neck.

"I'll see you tomorrow morning?" She asked let go of him.

Sam stepped back to give her some space to breath.

"Yeah."

Mercedes tried shrugging out of the jacket Sam gave her earlier to protect her from the chilly night air but Sam stopped her.

"Keep it for a while."

She smiled and nodded before unlocking the door and turning back to Sam. She stood on the tip of her toes stretching up to meet him in a soft kiss. Santana could say whatever she liked about Sam's lips but those guppy lips were magical. Kissing Sam was like kissing cotton candy.

"Bye." She whispered against his lips before slipping into the house.

"Bye." Sam said before she closed the door.

Mercedes looked through the peephole to see Sam doing his signature body roll before dancing his way down the porch and nearly tripping on his own two feet. Mercedes giggled at her dorky boyfriend as he disappeared out of view. She took a deep whiff ff his jacket and smiled as the musky fresh and manly scent she linked to Sam engulfed her.

Oh, how she loved that adorable dork she called her boyfriend.

* * *

 **Sooooo what is the verdict? Yay or Nay? Review please :)**


	5. Chapter 5

**Thank you for every single review. Some of you really get passionate, lol. Your reviews mean the world to me and if you want to rant…well rant. You guys make my day.**

 **Not much happens in this chapter except a steamy make-out session. So, if you have a weak heart- you were warned ;) Take note of the T-rating for the story.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Glee or its characters; if I did, I'd have a yacht. (PS- I posted this at midnight, hopefully it doesn't have too many mistakes)**

* * *

Loud banging came from his door. Sam groaned from his position on the couch grabbing the remote off the coffee table to pause the ancient _Superman_ movie he was currently watching. The previous day a _Superman_ movie marathon was on TV, which Sam recorded while at work.

After his daily workout and babysitting the Schuster kids for most of the morning, he returned home to lounge in front of the TV and watch the recorded movies. His girl was away to visit relatives for the week so he had nothing better to do other than watching TV.

Today they have been officially dating for a week and a few hours.

Sam against his will got off the couch and made his way towards the door. He opened it ready to whine to whoever was there that they were cutting into his TV time but once his eyes fell on Mercedes, he swallowed his words. She gave him a blinding smile.

"Hey."

"Hey, I thought you weren't coming home until tomorrow?" He asked confused before smirking. "You couldn't stand to be away from me? Don't worry, I get it."

Mercedes rolled her eyes hitting his chest before sliding past him into the apartment.

"I'm sorry but nope. We came back earlier because Dad is a speaker at a dental conference a few towns over tonight, which he forgot about. So he and my mother are away for the rest of the day and staying the night. I invited myself for a sleepover." She said lifting the duffle bag the air.

Sam closed the door. He walked towards her and kissed her gently.

"I do like sleepovers." Sam whispered against her lips before taking her bag and placing it in his bedroom.

"Have you eaten yet?" Mercedes shouted.

Sam walked into his divided living room to find Mercedes going through his fridge.

"Nope, I was thinking of ordering a pizza later- What?" He asked self-consciously as she eyed the contents of his fridge and freezer with her trademark _'I'm-Judging-You'_ face.

"This is not food." Mercedes said waving around a box of frozen mini pizzas in the air before her head disappeared inside the fridge yet again. "Microwave meals, hamburger patties, fish fingers, steak, frozen Mac & Cheese. These foods have no nutritional value at all. Where is the fish and chicken? Where are the fruit and vegetables? It' a shock you do not suffer from malnutrition. When last have you had a home cook meal?"

"Uhm...a little over a month ago when I visited my parents." Sam said as Mercedes pulled a jar out of the fridge and examined it before unscrewing the lid and cautiously bringing it to her nose. She pulled a face and gagged before closing it again. She walked to the trashcan and threw it away.

"I think something died in that jar- like three years ago." She said closing the fridge door. She straightened her spine and looked her boyfriend. "Come on, we're going to go buy you some real food."

"Are you going to cook it for me, Hollywood?" Sam asked walking over to his girlfriend. He trapped her against the counter caging her in his arms.

"As a matter of fact I was in the top 4 of Celebrity _MasterChef_ \- thank you very much. I'm more than just a pretty face." She said wrapped her arms around his waist.

"That you are, babe," Sam said before kissing her deeply.

After the kiss, Mercedes looked up at him flustered making him smirk.

"Come on; let's go buy you some real food." Mercedes said lifting up his arm so that she could escape the cage he put her in. Sam went to his room to find a pair of shoes and grab his wallet off his bedside table.

"You know, I can't cook very well, Mercedes so who is going to cook all that food you're making me buy?" Sam asked grabbing his car keys from a bowl full of random junk on the kitchen island Mercedes was sitting on.

"Me of course."

"Wait...are you moving in?"

"What-no. My dad would have a fit. He may like you but he was not joking around about not wanting caramel children out of wedlock. Dad is a deacon in church-can you imagine how scandalous it would be if we- an unmarried couple lived together? I may be 25 but my dad would kill me...or rather lecture me to death about sex."

"But we lived together in New York, didn't you tell your parents?"

"Did you tell yours?"

"No...my mother would have lectured me about safe sex and she would have probably given you the same lecture. And I'm pretty sure she would have had you take a pregnancy test every week to make sure we didn't end up as teen parents." Sam said thinking about it.

"Exactly, my dad would have done the same thing but he would make me send him the results. I think he would have moved to New York just to be a buffer. I told my mom though and swore her to secrecy but she still was not fond of the idea of us sharing an apartment. She was okay with Blaine for obvious reasons but I first had to ensure her Blaine was 110% gay. She still had her doubts after the Blaine and Rachel kiss years before."

"What guy hasn't Rachel kiss in Glee except for Kurt?"

"I'm pretty sure they kissed- I think- he was trying to show Artie and Mrs. P that he was manly enough to play Tony in the school musical senior year-" noticing the confused look on her boyfriend's face. "-you had to be there."

She jumped off the island and grabbed Sam's hand. "Let's go, we have some serious cuddling to do after we're done shopping."

"I do like me some cuddling."

"I know you do, my love."

* * *

"What is that?" Sam asked disgusted.

"It's a fruit." Mercedes said. "...I think."

"What kind of fruit?"

"It's some kind of fruit grown in New Zealand and in South African. I saw it online"

"What is it and how did it end up in Lima?" Sam asked suspiciously, as his girlfriend placed it in the shopping cart.

"Am I a New Zealander or South African? How should I know?"

"Then why are you putting it in the cart if you don't know what it is?"

"..."

"..."

"It looks interesting."

Sam picked up the fruit examining its yellow stubby exterior. It looked like something that belonged in a Star Trek movie.

"It's called a Kiwano melon!" Mercedes said brining him out of his investigation. He looked up from the alien fruit and placed it back into the cart.

He shut up and let Mercedes continue throwing random fruits and vegetable into his shopping cart. He did not really mind her walking in front of the cart examining the shelves- it gave him a great view of her ample backside in those tight booty-hugging jeans. Sam was lost in staring at her bum he did not hear her ask a question. She turned to find him staring at her which prompted her to throw the sealed bag of lettuce leafs at him. It bounced off him an landed in the cart on top of the other groceries.

"Stop being a perv."

Sam gave a guilty smile and watched her pull the loose shirt over her bum before continuing her search for nutritional food. They continued shopping.

"Oh, yeah, I'm heading off to Kentucky to visit my family for Spring break. You want to come with? Mom would love seeing you and I'm pretty sure Stevie won't object either."

Sam thought back to the times when he and she spoke via Skype when he visited home. His family members would always come butt in and talk to her more than he did. Then there was Stevie who developed a little crush on her. It was cute at 10…now five years later it was not.

"I don't want to impose on ' _Family Time'_ , Sam." Mercedes said.

"You won't be imposing since you'll be family someday soon." He said confidently.

Mercedes smiled shyly rolling her eyes at Sam.

"That isn't taking it slow, now is it?"

"Says the girl that just arrived on my front porch with her all her baggage."

"It was a duffle bag-"

"That duffle is the size of a mini-van."

Mercedes rolled her eyes and told him that they should go pay for the items. They stood in line making jokes as Sam of course threw a bunch of different candies into the cart.

Mercedes poked his toned torso.

"How do you keep on looking so sexy?" Mercedes asked.

Sam smirked.

Sam liked sweets but he also liked working out every day to keep his physique. The fact that Mercedes found his body sexy was a real testament that all those sit-ups and weightlifting was working mighty fine.

"Stop looking so smug, Sam. Vanity isn't hot."

"You're the one that called me sexy. I was just agreeing with you."

"Hmm."

"Hmm" Sam agreed wrapping an arm around her waist. She grabbed a nearby magazine and flipped through it as they waited in line. Sam noted the magazine she picked out was a bridal magazine.

"Are you trying to tell me something?"

Mercedes looked up from the magazine confused.

"What- why do you say that?"

He gestured to the book in her hands.

Mercedes blushed.

"It's the first thing I grabbed." Mercedes said. "Don't get any ideas, Evans."

Sam loved like a puppy at times. His love was deep and devoted – she loved that about him. But he was also known for being impulsive with that love at times. They were only dating for a week now and she did not want Sam getting any ideas yet. Even though they loved each other, they still needed to build on their relationship. They spent years apart as friends and in those years they both had grown up. Now it was time to grow together, which would take longer than a few weeks- that is for sure.

"I didn't say anything." Sam sang smirking with a shrug. "Maybe your conscience is trying to tell you something."

"It's telling me to tell you to wipe that smug look off your face." Mercedes said rolling her eyes.

"What smug look?" Sam asked faking innocence.

"That one you're wearing on your face now."

"This face?" He asked motioning to his face and pulling a face. Mercedes rolled her eyes hitting his shoulder. The couple continued joking around in line until the bored dry tone of the cashier rang through the air.

"Next."

Mercedes walked to the front of the cart to unload the groceries as the bored woman looked up from her nails. Her gaze fell on Sam before she looked at Mercedes than back at Sam. Mercedes followed the woman's gaze and looked at her boyfriend who was standing there trying to hide a mortified expression but failing.

"Hi Kelly." Sam said awkwardly clearing his throat. He looked at Mercedes pleading with his eyes taking her hand.

"Why don't we go to another check out counter-?"

"So, that's why you dumped me?" Kelly asked with an attitude.

 _'Okay, this is 50 shades of awkward'_ Mercedes thought.

"So that you could be free to date some other girl...oh wait not any girl- a superstar, right?" The girl glared at him with as much hate as she could muster.

"I thought you were still working at Jamba Juice." Sam said awkwardly rubbing the back of his neck. He knew he would walk into a few of his exes around town but he did not think it would be this awkward- maybe there would have been an awkward smile or maybe avoiding eye contact but not a full on confrontation.

"Does it look like I still work at Jamba Juice?" She hissed.

"Okay, I think we'll be going now." Mercedes whispered pushing the cart back. She was about to grab Sam's arm when the girl spoke.

"Excuse me but was I talking to you? No, I was not so butt out of this Queen Latifah."

' _Wait-what?'_

"Oh hell to the no. You ill mannered, indolent, unintelligent, Jersey Shore reject-"

Sam knew Mercedes was about to tear into Kelly and nothing would be left of the girl when she finished. Sam took Mercedes shoulders and interrupted- a little pissed that Kelly was making a scene.

"Okay, look Kelly there's no need to be mean. Mercedes and I are going to another check out point and leave you with your bitterness as company." Sam said leading a glaring Mercedes away from the blonde girl whom she was giving her _'I'm-Judging-You'_ look.

"You dated...that?" Mercedes spat glaring over her shoulder as Sam led her away from the racist rude blonde. Seriously, Queen Latifah? As if all black people looked the same. That bi-

"It was a long time ago." Sam said wrapping his arm around her waist as she pushed the shopping cart.

Okay, it wasn't such a long time ago: it was like three weeks ago. Kelly was a nice girl...in the beginning. After four weeks of dating, she wanted to know where he was at all time. She dropped by uninvited to Glee practice. She even asked him to meet her parents (which he declined) and then she told him she loved him and when he didn't say it back she started crying and ranting as she walk around his kitchen breaking most of his glasses. The next day she wrote an apology letter and left it on the mat by his front door...with a dead black rose. That was beyond creepy. He went over to her place and broke up with her. The girl went crazy- begging him not to leave. Sending him, I love you text. It was textbook stalker _ish_ if you ask him

Mercedes gave her a lingering glare before deciding to let it go. The fact that the ignorant girl took a low-key dig at her race was not the only reason Mercedes disliked her-there was also the part of Mercedes that was jealous. The girl was attractive- thin, pretty, blonde- the girl all the guys wanted. Mercedes could not help but feel insecure over the fact that Sam dated her. She and Blondie had nothing in common.

Do not get her wrong, Mercedes knew she was not ugly. She had big expressive eyes and a beautiful smile but she was not a contender for Ms USA either. Being surrounded by celebrities who were 'perfect' did make her self-conscious at times. She could not help it. Most of the times she would shake her insecurity off and be proud of the fact that she represented most of the world with her imperfect curves but at times, she did feel insecure. She was not a self-deprecating person at all but she could not help it at times.

"Hey, you still in there?" Sam asked brining her back to the present.

"Hmm." Mercedes said giving him a small smile standing in the checkout line.

Sam kissed her forehead.

"It wasn't serious 'Cedes. Plus it's in the past- ancient history, BC, prehistoric times when dinosaurs still walked the earth." He rubbed her arm as they waited in line. "You're the only girl I wanna impress with eight pack these days."

Mercedes threw him a look but could not stop the smile breaking over her face.

"You're so vain."

He winked at her.

* * *

A low moan filled the air. Lips danced together in frenzied passion.

Mercedes' one hand tangled in Sam's blonde locks pulling him closer to her. Her free arm wrapped around his waist. Tingles of ecstasy coursed through her veins. Burning flames of passion flooded through her bones. Her body moved in perfect sync with his wanting...no needing to be closer. Ever part of her body and soul yearned for his kiss and his touch. Her skin felt ablaze as Sam's hand caressed her with his gentle touch. She moaned in his mouth - heart pounding with pleasure. A soft warning echoed through the haze of bliss in the dark corners of her mind but her body was too lost in Sam's presence to heed the warning.

Sam leaned over her on the couch kissing her with everything he had. He groaned in pleasure as she gently tugged on his hair strands. His free hand- not supporting his weight on her- found Mercedes' waist. He pulled her closer. His body wanted more than just the heat soaking through their clothes- he needed to feel her soft skin caressing his as their bodies danced. He wanted her. He wanted her so badly. He relocated his arm from her waist and ran his fingers down her side feeling the rumple material of her nightgown ridding up beneath his hand. His fingers waltzed over the soft warm chocolate skin on her thigh. His body grazed against hers in slow motion.

"Sam," she moaned in his mouth. It was supposed to be a warning but she uttered it in pleasure.

The tingles running through her veins turned to flashes of lighting charged with passion and want. The sirens were going off in her head telling her to stop this before it goes too far. She untangled her fingers from his hair and caressed his jaw before moving down his neck and placing her hand to his chest- still lost in the kiss. She wanted to push him away and tell him they needed to stop but her body felt weak under his. Her body did not want him to separate from his- it needed his warmth, it needed his touch. The warning ring in her head dulled as a whirl of ecstasy engulfed her in its hold. She felt his hand slip in under the material of her dress and his thumb ran over her boyshorts. The warning bells were going crazy inside her head. If she did not stop this now she would do something, she would regret.

With the little strength she had left in her body after emerging from her ecstasy-filled haze, she gently pushed Sam away.

"Red skull." Mercedes whispered catching her breath as she looked into Sam's glassy eyes. He leaned over her- his lips mere millimeters from hers and their breaths mingling. He looked at her confused breathlessly whispering:

"What?"

"Red skull," Mercedes took a deep breath filling her deflated lungs with much needed air. "That's my safe word. When things start going too far one of us says 'Red skull'."

"As in the nemesis of Captain America? Johann Schmidt founder and commanding officer of HYDRA?" Sam asked. His chest touched the soft curves of her breast as he let out a breathless chuckle.

Mercedes nodded take deep breaths as she tried regaining control of her body. "Yeah, imagining his face is a mood killer. We need something that will kill the mood." Mercedes said.

In all honesty, Sam thought it was hot- her using a supervillain's name as a safe word. The geek in him was impressed with her knowledge of the Marvel Universe.

Sam felt the havoc she created in his body and before she could notice he slowly got off her careful to protect her virgin eyes from the not-so innocent bulge in his pelvic region.

"Excuse me for a bit." Sam said before walking out the room so that he could get control of his body.

Mercedes stared at the ceiling for a minute catching her breath. She put her hands on her drumming heart before sitting up. She needed a drink for her parched throat. She walked to the dim lit kitchen for a glass of water.

After a few minutes of walking around in the kitchen and clearing, the haziness in her head Mercedes decided to raid the fridge for the _'Star Trek'_ fruit as Sam dubbed it. Just as she sliced the thing, Sam came into the room after collecting, himself in a fresh pair of pajama pants.

"What are you doing?"

She cleared her throat.

"I thought we could try this weird thingy." Mercedes said awkwardly and handed him half of the thing. Of course, the sexual tension in the air was suffocating.

Sam eyed the fruit suspiciously looking at before looking into her encouraging eyes as she waited for him to eat it.

"You eat it first." Mercedes said.

"So that I can die first?"

"Someone needs to tell your story if something happens. Someone needs to make the posters, lead the marches and enforce new laws. I'll fight for you, Sam." She joked. "If something happens to you I will ensure they never plant this fruit again. I will make sure they ban it in every single country. Your story will save millions of lives.

Sam rolled his eyes before eyeing it like it was poisonous.

"If I die waken my soul with true love's kiss."

Mercedes rolled her eyes.

"You're not Snow White or Sleeping Beauty, Sam."

Sam stuck out his tongue before taking a lick of the fruit's center. He pulled a face- it was not one of disgust or utter enjoyment.

"It's not terrible. It tastes like if a cucumber, a banana and a lemon had a baby."

Mercedes took a lick. He was right.

"Yeah, that tastes weird. The last time I eat foreign fruit." She walked over to the trash bin and threw her half away.

"What am I supposed to do with the other 11 you made me buy?" Sam asked following her lead by getting rid of the fruit.

Mercedes shrugged.

"That's your problem." She said walking back to the couch. She picked up the remote on the coffee table sitting cross-legged on the couch. She unpaused the _Superman_ movie Sam recorded before going to normal live TV

"I was watching that before you interrupted me with your seduction." Sam said when Mercedes started looking for something new to watch

"You weren't complaining, now were you?" Mercedes said as Sam sat down next to her. "We've been watching Superman movies for the past 4 hours, Sam. I'm tired of Clark Kent."

Mercedes snuggled into his warm side as she continued flipping through the channels for something interesting to watch. Sam wrapped his arm around her sounders and ran his fingers over her bare arm. He rested his cheek on the top of her head. He loved how right it felt holding her. He loved how his body reacted to her proximity.

"Oh, ' _Sharknado 3: Oh Hell No!'_ "

"Yeah, oh hell no we're not watching that."

"Why not?"

Sam looked at his girlfriend as if she was rocking another head.

"This movie is a disgrace to all movies ever made. The storyline is tragic and don't get me started on the acting."

"You're just a hater."

"This is so unrealistic." Sam cried.

"Yes, because aliens would totally send their baby to Earth and said 'very human like' alien baby would totally protect the world with his indestructibility, lasers and stuff."

"Whatever- don't throw shade at _Superman,_ Mercedes. Sharknado is stupid. Why would you punish your eyes like that?" Sam asked. "Why do you hate your eyes, Mercedes?"

"I look at Sharknado as a comedy not an action movie, Sam. It is so absurd all it can be is a comedy. Do not hate on Sharknado. There have been three so there are people out there who seem to enjoy it-"

"You and those people have deep rooted psychological problems if you would willingly put your eyes and minds through such pain."

Mercedes rolled her eyes and changed the channel with a yawn. Sam buried his face in her neck kissing her and eliciting giggles from her. Sam bit the skin making her jump slightly in surprise before kissing it.

"Are you giving me a lovebite?" Mercedes asked whimpering as he licked the skin. Warmth spread through her body.

"Hmm." he whispered against her neck before moving his lips to her jaw and then her lips. Their mouths moved together in harmony- passion over taking their souls as their tongues danced together. On its own accord, her body moved to his lap. She sat on him straddling him as she kissed him. Sam's hands found her waist pulling her closer as she grinded her hips against his as they kissed. She cupped his cheek with one hand while the other got lost in his hair. She moaned in his mouth when one of his hands slid up her dress caressing her outer thigh.

"Red skull." Sam groaned into her mouth before pulling away. He closed his eyes taking a deep breath.

Mercedes was about to get off his lap when he tightened his grip on her waist. "I just need a few seconds." Sam said.

Mercedes nodded taking a deep breath to calm her body. Sam opened his eyes and smiled a lopsided smile as he cupped her cheeks. He pressed his forehead against hers keeping his gaze on her. She placed her hands on his chest.

"I love you." He whispered against her swollen lips tucking a stray piece of hair behind her ear.

"I love you too." She said before giving him a soft kiss.

 **Reviews would be nice :) They make my day.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Your reviews make me smile! Thank you for all of them.**

 **I hope you enjoy.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Glee or its characters. I do not own the song 'Whatever It Takes' by Leona Lewis either nor Magic Mike :). I don't own People magazine, Us weekly, In Touch and Star magazine either. I also don't own Say Anything, the movie.**

* * *

The obnoxious ringing of her phone next to her awoke her from her deep slumber. Mercedes groaned aloud feeling for the phone on the bedside table with her face still buried into her pillow.

If it were Sam wishing her an _'awesome day'_ as he did every morning before going to school, he would be receiving a tongue-lashing like no other. Seriously, a girl needed her beauty sleep. She was on vacation so she had to right to sleep in late.

"Hello?" She moaned- her voice sounded hoarse from disuse the previous night.

"Mercedes, have you seen the newest _People_ magazine? Have you been online yet?" A frantic voice asked.

It took Mercedes a few seconds to recognize the voice since half of her brain was still asleep.

"Ava-" Mercedes said recognizing the voice of her publicist. "-why are you calling me so early?" She asked.

"Mercedes Google yourself." Was all the girl said.

"Wait, what?"

"You heard me." Ava said. The irritation in her voice was as clear as daylight.

Mercedes groaned and got out of the bed to get her tablet resting on her desk. She quickly opened her internet browser- with her phone still pressed to her ear. She Googled herself and the first thing that popped up was a picture of her and Sam at the amusement park sharing a kiss. The caption of the picture: _'Mercedes Jones has a new boo!_ '. Mercedes clicked on it and the link took her to some gossip site.

"Are you seeing what I see?" Ava asked.

"Yeah," She whispered.

Look, she was not dim. She knew some time or another the paparazzi would find out about her new relationship- that was a given, but she did not think they would follow her to nowhere 'Lima' for a scoop.

"Read it."

She did:

"Mercedes, the good girl of R&B, seems to have it bad for the bad boys. The curvy diva that once dated the bad boy of R&B All Grey Skies for three months has been getting quite cozy with a blonde named Sam Evans. Get this; Blondie is an ex-prostitute. 'What does an ex-male prostitute and wanna be model want with a multi- millionaire singer?' You may ask. The answer my dear reader: money. Blondie wants a Sugar Mama. According to a friend of Sam, 'Sam is only dating Mercedes for her fame hoping that it would open doors from him in the movie industry. He would love to be the newest sequel of the Magic Mike franchise.-"

All air left her body when she read those words. She sat down on her bed.

This was all her fault. She dragged Sam into this madness and now his dirty laundry was out in the open for all to see. He was not a prostitute- he never had sex with any of those women. There was a huge difference between being a prostitute and an exotic dancer. When Sam returned to McKinley, it was common knowledge that he worked at a ladies' club and in all honesty it didn't look like it bothered him in the least. However, years after, on one of their late night Skype chats Sam told her that stripping was the thing he felt most ashamed of. He told her how disgusted he felt having random women touch him like that...

'What would his students think...Oh hell...What would his parents think?'

Sam never told them and he never wanted to. Now all because of her fame they would find out...

"Oh honey, that's not all. Pictures of you and your new boy toy are all over tabloid magazines- _US_ weekly, _Star_ Magazine, _In Touch_. I even have a _People_ here flaunting a picture of the two of you kissing in front of a grocery store. Seriously, Mercedes we built you an image! You are the good girl. The girl everybody loves! You are the freaking Whitney of your generation before she met Bobby! Sam whatever the hell his name-is, is your Bobby!" Ava ranted. "Look, when you dated Grey, it was bad enough in the beginning but now this guy? He is an ex-stripper! What the hell were you thinking? What about your reputation? And what about the fans who bought your gospel EP? And all the Christians fans that watched you sing to the freaking Pope. You are supposed to be all holy and sweet. You just lost 40% of your fan base! I can't be-"

Mercedes felt like crying...well she felt like punching something and then crying. The fact that Ava was trying to lecture her was working on her nerves. If they were judging and criticizing her- she could have taken it, yeah maybe she would cry in a ball in the corner of her room in the dark where nobody could see her, but still she would have taken it. But they were judging Sam...her Sam. They were painting him as some shallow vile human being...and he was far from that. Yeah, Sam could be conceited...he could be a little dim at times but he had the biggest heart ever. They did not know Sam and now they were judging him as if they knew him or even had the right to.

"Ava, if you called to yell at me, I suggest you hang up." Mercedes said slowly, her voice dripping with venom.

The woman was not expecting that to come out of her client's mouth judging by the sharp intake of breath Mercedes heard through the phone line.

"Mercedes, since you are my client, it's my job to protect you from bad publicity. We need to make a public statement about the nature of your relationship with Mr. Evans- I have already had three publications as well as _E! News_ call me for a comment-"

"Well, you can tell them it's none of their damn business. They don't have to know what's happening in _my_ relationship," Mercedes hissed rubbing her temples. She could feel the start of a pounding headache.

She needed to call Sam. She took a deep breath trying to calm down and to stop herself from lashing out at Ava.

"Ava, I'll call you later, okay-"

"Mercedes-"

"Ava, I have a quick call to make. I will talk to you later." Mercedes said cutting the woman off.

Before the redhead could get another word in Mercedes ended the call. She immediately went to her dialing pad and dialed Sam's memorized number. His phone went directly to voicemail. Mercedes knew Sam put his phone on silent when at school. He only checked his phone before Glee practice.

Mercedes sighed feeling tears of anger burn her eyelids. She fell back on the bed staring at the ceiling praying for strength she knew she would need.

* * *

"How is she?"

Those were the first words that left his mouth as he slid past Mrs. Jones into the hallway of her home. He was still upset by the gossip columnist who waited for him in the parking lot after work. The woman nearly shoved the tape recorder in his mouth as she asked him about the nature of his relationship with Mercedes. When he refused to answer the woman started asking if the claims of him dating her for her money and fame were true. She sounded convinced that they were. Sam would NEVER hit a woman but in that moment, he felt as if he could grab that recorder and stick so far up her nose that it would record the whimpers of her dying brain cells believing the crap people wrote about him. That woman showing up was the cherry on the crap cake he had today.

Mercedes' mother closed the door after giving the paparazzo sitting on the sidewalk across the street a glare filled with as much dislike as she could muster. She had to get him off her driveway by threatening to call the cops for trespassing earlier.

She turned to Sam wrapping her arms around herself. She glanced at the stairwell as she spoke.

"She locked herself in her room. She will not eat or talk me. I heard crying, I think she's been reading the things people are saying online." The woman sighed looking at Sam. "I know Mercedes acts like a tough cookie to the world but inside she's sensitive."

Sam nodded slowly.

"I'll go talk to her."

Mrs. J gave him an encouraging sad smile.

He turned on the balls of his feet and walked towards the staircase. Just as he was about to climb the first step he stopped and looked back at Mrs. J.

"Ma'am those things they said about me-"

She interrupted him before he could continue talking. As she spoke, she walked towards him.

"They aren't true. I know the story, Mercedes told it to me years ago." She could see the shame in his eyes. She caged the young man in a hug. "It doesn't matter anyway. It is in the past and it doesn't make me look at you any differently-" She pulled away from him and cupped his cheek. "-neither will it your parents. Your mother called earlier to ask me what was going on but I told her it is not my place to tell. Call them."

Sam moved his gaze downward. He did not want to tell his parents at all- he never wanted them to find out and now it was in every single gossip magazine. Then there was also the fact that his brother and sister would find out that their big brother used to use his body for money...he could just imagine the embarrassment they were probably feeling.

"How can you be so sure of that Mrs. J?" Sam whispered.

"Because as I parent I can't help but be proud of you. Of course, no parent wants to have their child use his body to help provide for his needy family but you decided to man-up and do whatever you needed to do to provide for those you love. That is something to be proud of and as the mother of your girlfriend it just comforts me because I know you would do whatever you have to, to ensure that my baby has all she needs and is happy."

Sam let out a breath feeling some of the anxiety leave his body. He needed that. He needed to hear from someone that he was not the person the media painted him to be.

He gave the woman a small smile.

"Thank you, Ma'am."

She smiled at him and patted his shoulder before disappearing into the living room.

"Remember to call your parents!" The voice called as he ran up the stairs.

He was dreading that phone call. He knew there would be a lot of crying- he and his family was an emotional bunch of people. After this, he would go home and call his mom- who was probably freaking out now- and later he would call again when everybody is home to explain everything in perfect detail.

He softly knocked on her door.

"Mercedes', it's me." He gently said to the closed white door. He heard shuffling before she unlocked the it.

The door opened to reveal her in an oversized shirt and leggings. He eyes were red from crying. Sam wrapped his arms around her. He could feel her chest move against his upper-torso as she tried to stop herself from sobbing in his arms. He could fell the wet material of his shirt stuck to his chest.

"I'm so sorry, Sam. This is all my fault." She said hoarsely. "This is my fault."

Sam pulled away from her- still holding her in his arms- so that he could look into her wet brown eyes.

"No, it's not. How could you think that?"

She sighed letting go of him and walking into her room. He followed closing the door.

"If you weren't dating me this wouldn't have happened, Sam. If you weren't dating me-"

"-I wouldn't be complete. You complete me, Mercedes" He said honestly walking towards her so that he could cup her cheeks. However, she walked away from him. She looked at the floor taking a deep breath before saying:

"I think we should break up, Sam."

Sam threw his arms in the air- exasperated.

"Have you read the things they're saying online, Sam?" Mercedes asked. "Have you read the names some people are calling you?" She whispered looking at him with sad eyes. "I knew there would people who wouldn't approve of us but I didn't think it would be this bad." She exhaled a breath wiping away the tears falling down her cheek. "This is just a taste of what's to come, Sam. I cannot claim to love you and put you through that. I can't put you through the judgment -"

"I'm an f*cking grown up, Mercedes!" Sam shouted. He was not the type of person who cussed usually but today was not his day and he needed to vent his anger with a few creative words. "Stop making decisions for the both of us! You keep on doing it- I do not even think you notice it anymore! You constantly telling me what you decided is best for _our relationship_ and I'm sick of it." Sam fisted his hand feeling the anger and frustration the day brought swelling up in his veins. "I don't need you telling me I can't handle the press. I am a grown man, Mercedes I can handle people throwing a few words my way. Do you want to know why?" He asked before answering his questions. "Because what we have is worth all the snide remarks and dirty looks."

He took a deep breath closing his eyes trying to compose himself. He opened his eyes and slowly spoke:

"You always do this, Mercedes and in all honesty it's tiresome. Every time when things start getting tough, you bail. You look to other people to endorse you and your choices. You did it when we broke up the first time in New York because your back-up singers were worried about you dating a white guy and you did it when you let Kurt and Rachel talk you into breaking up with before you went on your mall tour. You're doing it now too; you are letting other people's comments on something they don't know nor understand drive you in your wrong choices." He gave sad laugh casting his eyes to the ceiling. "I thought that after all these years that would have changed, I guess I was wrong." He shook his head sadly.

"I'm all in, Mercedes; I've always been all in. But I can't take this anymore." He shook his head. "If you want to end it-" He swallowed the lump in his throat. "-if you want to end what we have this time, then we're done for good, Mercedes. I have been waiting on the sideline for you all these years but I am not doing that anymore no matter how much I love you. I need you to show me you are in this with me for good and bad because I want to marry you one day. If you can't handle a few bumps in the road that comes with being a couple how are you going to handle them when you're married?"

Mercedes was full out crying as she watched him turn and open her bedroom door. He stopped and looked over his shoulder- the pain in eyes blinding.

"The ball is in your court, Mercedes." He took a step out the door before stopping without looking back at her. "You should stop letting other people's opinions influence your choices, Mercedes. This is your life and your happiness not theirs." With that said, he closed the door leaving the silently weeping girl behind.

* * *

Sam groaned as he felt his way down the dark short hallway before reaching his living room. He turned on the light hissing when the sharp hue of his cream walls assaulted his red puffy eyes and worsening the throbbing headache he had.

After speaking with his family for nearly two hours and a lot of crying from both sides, Sam developed a headache. He hoped lying down would make it go away since he was all out of aspirin. He lied in bed probably for an hour crying- this time about Mercedes. That girl was so damn infuriating at times that all he could do was cry his frustration out.

He was dead serious when he spoke to her a few hours ago. He loved her and he wanted her but it felt like he always was the one more invested in their relationship. He wanted to build a life with her and for that to happen she would have to start investing in this the same he is. She would have to stick with him in troubled waters.

Those thoughts and the drumming of his head sent him o sleep three hours ago. Unfortunately, though the plan of sleeping away the pain did not seem the work judging by the monotonous pulsation echoing through his head.

Whoever was knocking on his door at midnight had better have a good explanation.

He opened the door to see Mercedes standing in front of him holding her phone over her head as it played a song he did not recognize. Before Sam could ask her what was going on, she spoke.

"Before you say anything listen to the lyrics."

He did:

 _People say love comes and goes but_

 _They don't understand what they don't know_

' _Cause, what I feel starts_

 _Deep inside_

 _It's planted like a seed_

 _That springs into life_

 _They say it's not right_

 _And we move too fast_

 _But they don't know the meaning_

 _Of what we have_

 _Wherever it is, I'll fly_

 _Whatever it takes, I'll try_

 _So don't pay no mind_

 _To what other people say_

 _Whenever it is in my life_

 _Know that I will be on time_

' _Cause you know why_

 _There's no standing in our way…_

They stood there staring at one another as the song played in the background. Once it ended Mercedes closed her music app and looked back at Sam

"I wanted to recreate that iconic scene from ' _Say Anything'_ \- you know that scene where he holds up a boombox outside her window-" Mercedes gave a short-lived laugh. "You probably haven't watched it. It's old and it doesn't have superheroes." She shook her head when she noticed she was getting off topic. "Anyway, the thing is I couldn't find a boombox in such a short amount of time and your apartment was way to high for me stand in the parking lot and expect you to hear me from your window." She explained awkwardly before taking a deep breath and biting her lip.

"May I come in?" She asked.

Sam nodded and moved out the way so that she could come. He closed the door and turned back to the girl who was standing in the middle of his living room/ kitchen. He crossed his arms over his chest not ready to give into her so easily.

They stood silently studying one another. Sam noted her eyes were red and swollen- probably from crying as well. Mercedes took a deep breath breaking the silence between them.

"I love you, Sam." She began nervously rubbing her palms together. "I'm all in, okay. I know at times when things get hard I take the easy way out- sometimes depriving myself of my own happiness. I know I let people's opinions sometimes get the best of me because I want to be liked- I did it in high school too, you know?" She looked up at him for the first time since speaking.

"Starting today, I don't care about what other people say about me. But it hurts me if they say those hurtful things about people I love-"

"I can look after myself-"

"I know and I'm sorry." She said walking towards him. "I'm sorry for giving up when things start getting rough. I'm sorry for even thinking of breaking up with you." She whispered taking his hands in her cold ones. "I'm in, Sam. I'm all in."

A heartwarming smile broke over his lips before he kissed her hands. He let them go and wrapped his arms around her, resting his chin on her head.

"Don't ever scare me like that again."

"I promise I won't." She whispered against his chest.

He pulled her away from her so he could cup her cheeks. His warm hands caused tingles on her cool skin. He looked deeply into her eyes as he spoke with authority.

"No social media, okay. You and I will not go on Twitter or Facebook. You will not Google any news about you; you will not read anything they say in those magazines. You will not watch celebrity gossip shows. You will ignore everything people say or ask about us for the whole week. After this week is done, you are coming with me to visit my parents on a ranch in the middle of Kentucky where no one will find you and we are going to stay there for Spring break. Deal?"

Mercedes gave a mock salute. "Yes, Captain Evans, Sir!"

Sam chuckled before kissing her and pouring every ounce of his soul into it.

* * *

 **I hope you enjoyed. Please review :) Reviews motivate me :)**


	7. Chapter 7

**Zeejack- Your reviews make me smile. Your reviews are the length of essays lol! In this chapter, we find out the source of the lies but it is not really much of a surprise really. I hope you enjoy this chapter as much as you did the previous :)**

 **Zini-Thanks I am glad you enjoy it so far, hope I do not disappoint with this and future chapters**

 **Loganmin11 & Brontee72- Why thank you for the kind words**

 **Lamimi25- Lol! Cool your jets, love...we still need some drama before there can be a wedding ;)**

 **Monni2215- I hope those were _happy tears_ you were trying to keep in!**

 **Msgonzo10- Thank you and I hope you will love the future chapters too :)**

 **Emestee1- Thanks and here they are in Kentucky! I hope you enjoy :)**

 **To all my guest reviewers- Thank you! Reviews are motivational, so keep 'em comin'! ;)**

 **I wanted to turn this chapter into two parts originally but I decided to just do one very long chapter (cause I didn't know how to end part I) that took like four days to write (I had many distractions...plus I was working on a Wattpad story of mine simultaneously).**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Glee and I don't own Hallelujah by Leonard Cohen (I love the song)**

* * *

Sam glanced over at a sleeping Mercedes as he followed the dirt road leading to his parents' house. She was exhausted. He too was exhausted. This week has been rough on him; dealing with random paparazzi in front of his apartment and school was terrible. Then there was _'a source close to the couple'_ that was spreading lies which became more ridiculous as the days went by. Sam then hired a private investigator to find out who this 'supposed source' was. It turned out be Kelly- his ex-girlfriend, she was spreading lies for media attention and to get back at him for dumping her.

In the distance, Sam could see the house's lights in the black before disappearing behind a wall of trees.

"Mercedes, babe," Sam said gently trying to wake her. She stirred and groaned.

"Leh mah ahloh." She mumbled in gibberish with a sigh.

Sam chuckled under his breath and poked her side making her groan.

"I'll khill yha."

"Wow, you sure are violent." Sam said with a chuckle. "But seriously babe, we're almost at the house. You have to wake up now."

She sighed opening her eyes stretching in the little space in the car. She rubbed her eyes before looking out her window only to see darkness surrounding them. She yawned looking over to her boyfriend.

"Where are we?"

"We're on the road leading to the ranch. We're almost there."

She nodded taking a deep breath. She felt nervous and she did not know why. Yeah, she had not physically seen the Evans family in years but on those occasions Sam visited his family and they video-chatted the Evans clan would gather around and catch up with her.

However, they were not dating at the time. And Mercedes was kinda the reason they and their son were under the scrutiny of people all over the world.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Sam asked noticing her nervously bite her lip. He took her hand and kissed her fingers.

"Nothing...it's stupid." Mercedes said trying to give him a small smile that made her look as if she was in physical pain.

"Mercedes."

She sighed.

"I just, I feel bad. Because of me, you are being judged...and your family's hard times are being discussed in every tabloid. And now people are saying your parents are bad people because they let you strip-"

"Mercedes calm down, would you? It's not your fault and they know it-" Sam begun. "-Wait, didn't I tell you not to go online?"

Mercedes groaned.

"I know. I know but I couldn't stop myself-"

"Mer-"

"I'm sorry, okay. But you said a week and a week is almost over."

"You do realize a week is seven days as in Monday to Monday. It's Friday today." Sam said.

"It's unfair that I can hide in my house when you get hounded and judged-"

Sam sighed running a hand through his hair as the lights of the house became visible in the distant darkness.

"I'm a big boy-"

"I know-" Mercedes said taking his free hand and kissing it. "But I still don't like it. I don't like what people are saying about you." She whispered against his knuckles.

Sam gave a small smile and squeezed her hand driving past his family's barnyard housing a few of his parents' animals.

They had two cows for milk, a few goats and sheep, chickens, four pigs, ducks and four horses on the land. His mother grew up a farm girl and she wanted animals once he bought them the ranch to remind her of home...so Sam bought her animals.

"I know, babe."

Sam drove up to the two-story house, Moscow and Sylvester- the two German Shepherds ran to the fence waggling their tails and running alongside the car on the other side of fence. The front door opened to reveal his mother, Stacy and her dog Papi- the Chihuahua (Sam made his sister name him after the _Beverly Hills Chihuahua_ movies). Sam parked the car on the gravel forming a driveway that led into the now closed garage and turned off the heater. Mercedes unbuckled her seat and opened her door. The night air greeted her exposed cheeks and arms. She painted a smile on her face as the family walked down the white porch steps before opening the small gate greet them.

"Mercedes, I haven't seen you in the flesh for nearly, what seven years?" Mrs. Evans said throwing her arms around Mercedes, hugging her tightly before letting her go, and holding her arms. "Let me look at you." She said examining her as the other two Evans males walked out the house

"Nice to see you too, Mom." Sam said dryly from the trunk.

"Oh you're here too." Mrs. Evans joked walking towards her son with her arms open.

Stacy gave her a hug before Stevie engulfed her in a hugged her and clung on to her until Sam cleared his throat and flicked his forehead. "Help me with the bags."

Stevie gave him a sly smirk and followed Sam to the trunk. Mr. Evans gave her a small smile and hugged her.

"Hello Mercedes."

"Hey, Sir." Mercedes said letting him go.

"How are you ?" Fatherly care shone in his green eyes

She gave an awkward smile.

"I've had better weeks, that's for sure-"

"What do you have in here; boulders?" Stevie asked dragging Mercedes purple suitcase behind him. "Why is this thing so heavy? Clothes cannot be that heavy."

"Maybe you just don't have any upper body strength." Stacy interjected from the sidelines.

"Maybe you don't have a mirror and that's why you look like a living personification of a nightmare." Stevie said.

"Maybe-"

"Both of you stop behaving like children. Stacy you're 14 and Stevie your 15 act your age." Mrs. Evan scolded the two teenagers who were on the verge of starting a war. She then focused her gaze on Mercedes and Sam.

"While you two get settled in Stacy and Steve will help me set the table-" cue a groan from the two teenagers. "-we've been waiting for you two to arrive before serving supper." She looked at Sam nodding to her husband. "Your dad nearly fainted. You arrived just in time."

The eldest Evans rolled his eyes at his wife and followed her towards the home leaving the young couple behind. Sam kissed Mercedes' temple.

"Now, was that so bad? Nobody died. Armageddon didn't come. The earth is still orbiting the sun."

Mercedes rolled her eyes and followed Papi into the house.

* * *

"He actually tried out for the cheerleading team to get closer to me. You should have seen the sad, pathetic dance moves he did before ending in a split and tearing his trousers in front of the whole squad." Mrs. Evans said as her blonde husband shot her a dirty embarrassed glare across the dinner table.

Mercedes giggled nearly choking on her lamb. She took a sip of her Coke as everybody around the table- except for Mr. Evans of course- laughed at the story.

"So, big, sometimes insanely corny, romantic gestures are in the Evans bloodline I see."

"Hey!" The two eldest Evan men said making the women roll their eyes.

"Remember the _Bieber Experience_ to win Quinn over?" Mercedes asked. "That was so sad. I can't believe she actually agreed to be seen in public with you after that, much less date you."

"What's that?" Stacy asked.

"Your brother Biebered himself up- he had the Justin Bieber hair, sang the songs. It was sad-"

"You're lying; you know you wanted a piece _Sam-almost -Justin-Bieber_ back in the day. You were totally fan-girling, Mercedes."

Mercedes rolled her eyes as everybody laughed.

"Oh and remember when you joined synchronized swimming to impress me with a letterman jacket?"

"Oh no, dude, that's so lame." Stevie said.

"Whatever, Stevie. You will fall in love someday, young one." Sam.

Mercedes and Stacy raised their brows shaking their heads at the 'wisdom' in Sam's voice.

"You never told us you joined synchronized swimming." Mr. Evan said slicing his lamb and taking a bite. "What else have you not told us?"

With that, a nerve-racking silence rang through the room. All that was needed was a cricket in the background.

"I need a glass of water." Mr. Evan said standing up and leaving the room.

Mrs. Evan sighed looking over to her son staring at his plate in shame as Mercedes uncomfortably cleared her throat. Realizing that Sam and Mercedes took it the wrong way she decided to clear things up.

"He didn't mean it like that. He-he just feels guilty."

"Why, it was my choice, Mom. He didn't ask me to-"

"I know and he knows it too. But no parent wants their child to go through that...or him to feel that he had to you know-" She cleared her throat. She did not want to ever use the word ' _strip'_ when referring to her baby boy. "He feels that he failed you as a parent, Sam. He feels that it's his job to protect you and he's angry at himself because he feels like he didn't." She sighed. "As a parent you want to protect your child from the world. He is not ashamed of you Sam. He's ashamed of himself."

Sam took a deep and got up. "I'll go talk to him." With that said, he disappeared into the kitchen to talk with his father.

The eldest Evans leaned against the sink staring out the window into the dark distance.

"Dad."

The 52-year old turned to the voice of his eldest son. The young man was nearly a mirror image of him at his age- dark blond locks and green eyes.

"Dad, it's not your fault. Stop beating yourself up."

"You don't understand, Sam. You're not a parent." The pain shinning in his eyes was as clear as daylight. "What would you feel if the roles were reversed here? How would you feel as father if your son had to...if he had to take of his clothes to help put food on the table?"

The comedian in him wanted to joke he would not have to worry about that since his girlfriend- and future wife- is loaded. However, this was no time for jokes.

Sam sighed.

"Dad, it was my choice. I chose to do it. Me. Nobody asked me to. I did it because I wanted to and you need to accept and respect that. You are an amazing father and I'm blessed to call you 'Dad'. You did all you had to, to support us and so did I.. I'm not ashamed over the fact that I helped my parents out because if I could go back in time I still would have done it. I'm ashamed about how I went about doing it but not because I did it-"

His father grabbed him in a hug cutting him off. Sam smiled against his father shoulder- tears burning his eyelids as he wrapped his arms around the older man..

"I'm proud to call you my son. You're a good man, Sam" Dwight let go of his of his son and patted him on the back. The love for his son shinning in his eyes.

"So how was your week, my boy?"

Sam sighed.

"Hard...very hard; people are mean." Sam said running a hand through his hair. People called him horrible names. A few of his rude students even brought up his past when he was trying to reprimand them for their behavior. It sucked. "But I don't want to talk about that tonight. Let's get back to dinner."

* * *

"This isn't funny!" Mercedes shouted as she ran away from the pig chasing her. Mrs. Evans, Stevie, Stacy and Sam stood on the outside of the pigpen laughing at the her as Mr. Evans chased after the pig trying to distract it from Mercedes but failing. Mercedes and farm animals...they did not mix well.

It started this morning when Sam's mother told Sam to get fresh eggs for breakfast. Mercedes- wanting to experience the life of _'the other half'_ went with Sam to get the fresh laid eggs. She followed Sam into the chicken coop- basket in hand ready to help gather eggs but then the rooster decided it did not like her and chased her away. The animal ran past Sam ignoring him completely chasing his screaming target inside the kitchen where Sam's parents and siblings all sat waiting for the eggs. Of course, they all burst out laughing at her. When she called their chicken a racist, they all lost it completely. Stacy even fell out of her chair because she was laughing too hard.

After breakfast, Mercedes decided to be brave and go with Sam to milk the cow for milk the next morning. Sam demonstrated how before letting her take the lead. However, when she tried nothing came out. So, she pulled and squeezed gently as Sam tried keeping in a chuckle the next to her. The cow had had enough and started walking away while she was still holding her udder making Mercedes lose her balance and fall face first off her small stool onto the ground...into dried chicken crap. Sam laughed so hard his knees gave in under him.

Mercedes was not amused. She threw a diva fit and stomped her way back to the house leaving a laughing Sam behind. After 15 minutes of sulking in her room- and Sam begging her to come out-, she decided to face the world again.

Sam then took her to the pond to see the geese…the exact same thing that happened with the rooster happened again. However, this time rather than a small chicken chasing her and flapping its small wings as it ran and jumped after her, a goose _flew_ behind her chasing her away from its territory but allowing Sam to touch her goslings. Mercedes seriously thought the Evans family had racist animals.

They then went to set the sheep free so that they could graze on the open grass of the land. The Evans and Mercedes leaned on the frame of the sheep pen with their backs to the sheep, talking and joking around. Mercedes waist length weave swayed through the wind brothering no one...except some sheep who thought her hair look tastier than grass. At first, she did not notice the thing using her hair for a taste test...but then it started tugging on her head making her lose her balance and fall to the ground on her butt and back. Sam did not know if he should laugh or worry about his girlfriend who was being eaten alive...so he did both. As he chased the sheep away and helped his girlfriend, he laughed to her face, which just angered her more. She went back inside the house and swore she would never come out again.

After ten minutes, Mrs. Evans knocked on her bedroom door with scissors in hand. 15 minutes later, Mercedes left the room with a shoulder length weave and followed Mrs. Evans outside to watch Mr. Evans feed the pigs.

She interacted with the pigs petting them through the fence and at first they seemed friendly enough. For some stupid reason beyond all logic, she decided to help the eldest Evans with feeding them. That is how she ended up being chased around by a bloodthirsty pig while her boyfriend- who was going to be an ex-boyfriend soon if he did not help- laughed his tail off. Mercedes ran out of the pigsty. The pig stopped chasing her once she was out of his territory and went back to eating with its friends.

Mercedes stood still catching her breath as her amused boyfriend made his way towards her. Mercedes raised a hand in the air glaring at him.

"Oh now you want to come but when that bloodthirsty pig tried to eat me you sat there laughing at me."

He smiled trying to stop from laughing.

"It was funny though." Sam said.

"Not to me. I almost died." Mercedes said as Sam wrapped an arm around her shoulder. She tried shrugging him off but stopped once she realized he was not planning to let her go. "I swear these animals are racist."

Sam rolled his eyes and led her back to his giggling family.

A few hours after all the 'fun' the Evans family decided on a friendly match of soccer- girls against boys. Mercedes was not much of a sport person but she reluctantly agreed to play.

The two teams were on a patch of mowed grass with the three dogs playing cheerleaders. They were now playing for 15 minutes. Both teams were tied with three goals.

"We are going to make you all cry to your mommies" Mrs. Evans smack talked as she passed the ball to Stacy.

Stevie who tried blocking her stopped and pointed to Sam who was attached to Mercedes and copying her moves, before pointing at himself.

"You do realize you are our 'Mommy'."

"Thanks for raining on my parade, Stevie."

Stevie and Sam chuckled. Mercedes used the distraction to run away from Sam and scream to Stacy- who was being chased by her father, that she was open. Stacy kicked the ball towards her- hard. Mercedes readied herself to kick it to an open Mrs. Evans when she suddenly felt arms around her and the ground beneath her disappear. The soccer ball flew past her legs towards Stevie.

"That's cheating!" Stacy screamed as Mercedes helplessly kicked her legs in the air. Stacy glared at her brother holding his girlfriend hostage before running after Stevie to reclaim the ball.

"You suck, Sam." Mercedes said punching him in the gut once he put her feet back on the ground. Sam smirked at her before running after the ball leaving her in his dust.

"All's fair in love and soccer!" He shouted over his shoulder.

"I'll get you back you jerk!"

...and she did get him back...accidentally. She did not plan this...really, she did not. It was an accident...a calculation error. Her foot had a mind of its own when she accidentally sent the ball flying towards Sam's groin.

As the game progress she someway somehow had the ball and Stevie, Mr. Evans and Sam were descending on her from the left, right and front. She panicked and kicked the ball out in front of her... full force into Sam's private parts.

Her boyfriend fell to the grass clutching his aching parts. He curled into himself- his face going from pale to red in the matter of seconds. Mercedes gasped bringing her hands to her mouth as she walked to her panting boyfriend lying on the grass with his eyes closed. Mrs. Evans sent Stevie inside to get an ice pack as they all circled Sam. She sat on her knees a few inches away from him afraid to touch him fearing that her touch would only cause him more pain.

"I am so sorry, Sam." Mercedes whispered before looking to Stacy who was trying her best to stop laughing by pressing her fist to her mouth. The girl was silently shaking with laughter.

"I guess Mom was right." Stacy said amused giving up the fight and in laughing.

It took every fiber of Mercedes' being not to burst out in laughter in front of her boyfriend. A snort escaped Mrs. Evans before she placed her hand on her mouth. Tears of laughter fell down her cheeks. Mr. Evans was too busy empathizing with his son to find it funny- judging by his knees bending together and the horror written on his face.

"Not funny." Sam groaned opening his eyes as Stevie ran out the backdoor with a bag of frozen peas. Sam took the bag and pressed it on his pelvis lying on his back staring at the blue sky above him as he took deep breaths.

Stacy groaned. "I'll never be able to eat peas again. Thank you for that, Sam."

"I think it's swollen." Sam groaned ignoring her.

Mercedes looked up to see Stevie smirking before saying:

"That's what she said."

"Wow, mature." Stacy said rolling her eyes as her parents looked at each other lost.

"Who is she and what am I missing?" Mr. Evans asked confused.

"Nobody, Papa E. Don't you worry about that." Mercedes said rubbing her boyfriend's shoulder. "I'm really sorry, Sam. I didn't mean to-"

"It's fine...okay _'it'_ is not fine but _it_ will be... I hope."

The women rolled their eyes at the 'it' Sam was referring to.

"Seriously, you're dating _that_ …willingly?" Stacy asked raising a brow.

"Hey, if ever you dump him and you're looking for a younger hotter version of Sam, I'm here too." Stevie said receiving a smack to the head from his mother..

"You have a death wish I see." Sam said from the ground trying his best to glare at his brother through the pain.

* * *

"You want to watch the stars with me? It's full moon." Sam said walking into the guest room. He had a blanket tucked under his arm.

Mercedes looked up from her crossword puzzle. She was already dressed for bed. Sam lied down next to her on the comforter giving her puppy dog eyes. She rolled her eyes and went back to her puzzle.

"Just give me a few minutes, I'm almost done. I just need six more answers-"

Sam groaned grabbing the magazine from her hand. Mercedes was not impressed.

"Give it back."

"Make me." He said sitting on his knees and dangling the magazine over her head.

"I will knee you in your junk, Evans. Give it back."

Sam winced thinking back to the incident two days ago.

"Do you really want to endanger the wellbeing of your future children, Mercedes?" He asked gesturing to his pelvis with the folded magazine.

She furrowed her brows and nearly pushed him off the bed.

"You're a mess, Sam." She said rolling her eyes.

"I'm just making sure you don't endanger my sperm cells. You do want healthy genetically blessed children, don't you?" Sam asked throwing the magazine on the bedside table. He leaned over her- his nose touching hers, her lips millimeters from his. He was about to seduce her into going with him when the door flew open.

He froze wide-eyed before looking over his shoulder to see his mother.

"This is why I said the doors stay open when you two are alone in a room." She declared it a law in the home after repeatedly having to force Sam off the poor girl these past few days. There was also the fact she did not want any grandchildren created in her home.

Sam could say whatever he liked about ' _abstaining 'til marriage'_ but she could see the linger looks the two gave one another. Heaven knows how many time she had to whack Sam against the head for staring at Mercedes' butt who seemed to have it's own fan club judging by the looks Sam gave his brother whenever Mercedes walked out of a room. She knew Stevie was mostly doing it to annoy Sam but she also knew his teenage boy genes were enjoying the view.

"Anymore funny business and you'll be banned from the room, Sam." She said before disappearing out of the door with a lingering _'I'm-watching-you'_ finger gesture. Papi stayed behind a few seconds staring at them before following his owner out the room.

Sam looked down at his girlfriend- his cheeks burning pink, to see her covering her face in embarrassment. He decided to roll off her before his mother came back. Sam stared at the ceiling awkwardly for a few seconds before looking at his girl who was still hiding behind her hands.

"You wanna go with me now?"

"Fine." Mercedes sighed getting up. She put on a pair of boots she bought yesterday in for walking around on the ranch since she was not going to ruin her favorite shoes with dirt and chicken poop. She tucked her pajama pants into the boots before opening her closet and pulling out a sweatshirt and putting it on. She followed Sam out of the room. They walked downstairs to see his siblings fighting over the remote control. He took her hand led her out the back door into the cool night air.

Sam neatly laid the blanket on the grass and gestured for her to sit down.

"Ladies first."

Mercedes lied down and stared at the black skies adorned by the glitter of thousands of stars shinning on the veil of the dark heavens. She laid her head on Sam's chest once he lied down.

"You know when I was young I asked my Grandpa how stars are made-" She lightly shivered when Sam ran his fingers down her back. "-He told me that every time someone dies God takes their soul and makes it into a star to look down at us from the heavens." Mercedes smiled thinking back to her elderly grandfather. "But then school came and they told me stars exist out of gasses totally ruining the magic for me. School really ruins your childhood. Almost all the years of my life I thought a heart looked like 2 question marks coming together and in one day the teacher ruined years of my childhood by drawing something that looked like a rock with roots coming out of it. I was traumatized."

Sam chuckled.

"Is that the inspiration for your song Star? _You may be gone from this world. But your spirit will live on. In the glitter of every night star from dusk 'till dawn. Every lonely night, I'll look up to the sky and know I will be alright. Oh my bright star, you may be far but you shine so bright. In the darkness you are my guiding light_ '"

"You know the words."

"I know all the lyrics to your songs, Mercedes." She looked up at her boyfriend with an impressed smile on her lips.

"Really?" She whispered.

"Yeah and I also know all your songs are based on your past experiences." Sam said tucking a curl behind her ear. "That's why I'm kinda worried about your emotional state when you wrote War." He than sang a part of the chorus for her. " _You left me battered and bruised. I felt cold, bitter and used. With a pain, I can't describe. I will rise from the ashes and learn to survive. I promised myself I'll make it through this war._ " Sam ran his fingers down her neck as she looked away. "Are you going to tell me who hurt you?"

Mercedes sighed and sat up. She crossed her legs and played with fingers as she talked..

"I don't want to do this now, Sam."

Sam sat up next to her.

"Mercedes, I know something happened and I've been trying to be patient and wait for you to come to me on your own."

"Sam, I don't want to talk about this now. Can you respect that?"

Sam cupped her cheeks and made her look at him.

"No, I can't." Sam said honestly. It has been nagging him for a while now and tonight he wanted answers. "Talk to me, Mercedes."

She sighed placing her hands on his and guiding his hands from her cheeks to her lap.

"Conner, that's his name. He's a singer; his stage name is All Grey Skies." Mercedes began looking at their intertwined fingers. "I wasn't really looking for someone. In all honesty I could care less but he was persistent and even though I was hesitant because of everything I heard of him, I agreed to on a date to get him off my case."

Sam had a feeling he was not going to like where this story is leading.

"We went on a date and he was charming, kind and funny. And we hung out more and more after that and two months later we officially started dating. In the beginning it was moonshine and roses." Mercedes said drawing circles on his skin. "He was so sweet and supportive but...with time that changed and his true colors came out." She took a deep breath. "He started making innocent comments about my weight...my friends and especially my friendship with you."

He remembered a time when Mercedes ignored his calls and did not answer his text. He found out she was dating that Grey Skies person and he guessed they were serious and she probably did not want to upset her boyfriend. Even though it hurt, he decided to keep his distance from her and the two continued life as acquaintances for a while.

"One day he went through my phone he got so angry when he found out I texted you everyday. I did not take it as warning sign and shrugged it off as him just being jealous, which I totally get. If an ex-girlfriend of yours were sending you text everyday I'd probably go cut of her boobs in her sleep or something."

Sam chuckled slightly as a small smile broke across her face before she turned serious again and continued her story.

"And so, I cut off ties with you." She said letting go of one of his hands and cupped his cheek. "I really missed you those few months, you know? It was weird not talking to you or having you randomly text me a joke or a funny internet meme." She let go of his cheek and resumed playing with his fingers as she continued speaking. "He started getting jealous because I was spending time with my other friends and not him. He did not like it when I would visit Rachel and Kurt in New York if I had free time. It just progressed from there and the worst part is I didn't even notice that I was pushing my friends away and cocooning myself in a small ball in a far corner." She kissed his hand. She stared into the distance lost in her memories.

"The comments on my weight got worse and it really didn't help that people were saying I should lose weight or go for surgery since I was _rich enough to afford it'_." She bit her lip. "I then did something I promised myself, I would never do; I starved myself. I was surrounded by people constantly telling me I was not pretty enough or thin enough. It stung. I gave in to the idea of perfection, I guess. The lack of nutritious foods, stress, insomnia and sadness caused my body to give up." She said. "I had a mental break down and fainted from starvation and exhaustion. I was hospitalized and I had to go to therapy."

Sam felt like shooting something… or rather someone. The anger coursing through his veins, the bloodlust...it was too much to handle. The sick bastard hurt _his_ Mercedes. Sam tried controlling himself so that Mercedes could finish her story.

"I looked at myself in the mirror and I didn't recognize the void I've become in just two months. We broke up shortly after that-"

Sam hugged her tightly promising her without words that he would protect her. He kissed her forehead praying for calmness because in the moment he was ready to fly to L.A and punch that guy to a bloody pulp before leaving his suffering body on a train track. He could feel her tears soak his shirt.

"I-I-I became the per-person I swore I would never be." She whispered against his chest- her voice breaking as she spoke. "I remember in high school when Cooter hit Beiste, I promised myself I would never be in a relationship like that. But I was; even though he didn't hurt me physically, he did emotionally. I felt so ashamed, Sam. I felt so weak." She whispered, a painful lump forming in her throat. "I was not the strong woman my parents raised me to be."

"Shush, love." Sam said cradling her as he tried calming her down. "You are a strong, beautiful, talented, intelligent woman. That son of a b-" Sam took a deep breath calming himself before he erupted in anger and curses not meant to be seen or heard by a lady. He let go of her cupping her cheeks and wiping away fallen tears and speaking with sincerity:

"You are perfect, Mercedes. How could you ever believe anything less?" He asked. "That disgusting human didn't deserve to breathe the same air as you. You are amazing and-"

She gently kissed him and pulled away with a small smile.

"I love you." She hoarsely whispered.

"I love you more."

"Impossible."

"I love you times infinity." Sam said.

"I love you infinity times infinity." Mercedes tried to one up him.

Sam gave a small smile even though his heart was not in it. He turned serious:

"I mean it, Mercedes. You are beautiful, talented-"

"I know and the experience, as bad as it was just made me stronger." She said

Sam kissed her forehead realizing something.

"Why couldn't you sleep?"

She looked uncomfortable and cast her eyes downward but Sam did not allow that for long before lifting her chin and making her look at him. She groaned.

"There was this guy who sent me letters and stuff declaring is love for me and crap about us belonging together. It freaked my out so badly I had trouble sleeping. So I had to deal with that and all the other problems I was going through at the time."

"Did you tell your parents all of this?"

"They know about the stalker but not about Conner. They think I had a breakdown because of the stress of having a stalker." She said. "I'm a big girl, Sam. I didn't want to worry my parents-"

"Yeah you are but you went through all of this alone, Mercedes. It bothers me." Sam cried before taking a deep calming breath angered by the fact that she was holding all of this in for so long...and hurt that she didn't trust him enough to share it with him until he had practically force it out of her. "What happened to the person?"

Mercedes shrugged.

"I don't know, the letters just stopped one day and I haven't had any since. My manager thinks the guy may have gotten arrested...or died..."

His girl was so strong. His girl was freaking warrior. All of that, and she came out fighting. However, a part of him felt angry with himself for not trying hard enough when she started pulling away from him then. Sam was close to exploding with rage, frustration and pain he felt for his girlfriend.

Mercedes guided his face back to her with her small hands.

"It's over, it's in the past and we can't rewrite history." She said with a small shrug. "Plus what doesn't kill you makes you stronger." She sang quoting a Kelly Clarkson song.

Sam was not amused.

"It's not funny, Mercedes." He cried.

"This is why I didn't want to tell you- I knew you'd overreact." Mercedes said getting up.

"Overreact? I am not overreacting, Mercedes! Am I supposed to feel nothing about the fact that the person I love most in this world had to go through ...that!" Sam asked throwing his arms in the air. "I'm not overreacting!"

"Why the hell are you shouting at me for?" She shouted.

Sam ran a hand through his hair. She was right, why was he shouting at her for? He was so angry he could feel his blood boil in his veins and he was taking his anger out on her. He sighed walking towards her stiff form.

"You're right; you're not the person I should be yelling at." He kissed her forehead. "You go inside I'm going stay outside and clear my head."

Mercedes nodded and picked up the blanket.

 _'Well there goes looking at the stars'_ she thought as she walked back to the house.

* * *

Mercedes heard her door open and closing in the drowsy haze of her slipping consciousness. She was about to drift back to sleep and shrug the sound off as her imagination when she heard heavy footsteps walking towards. Her automatic response was freezing and praying that whoever it was would disappear. The footsteps stop behind her stopped. The bed groaned under the weight of the person. She mentally prepared to jump up- ready to use the lungs God gave her and scream bloody murder when she felt familiar arms around her.

"Sam, what are you doing in my room?" She asked and turned on the lamp, slightly hissing and pulling a face as the light chased away the darkness here eyes were accustomed to. She turned around in Sam's arms and saw he was still wearing the hoodie over his PJ's he had on when he dragged her outside earlier. She rubbed her eyes and yawned

"What are you doing? You realize your mother will ban us from spending time together unsupervised."

"Everybody's sleeping, plus I'll be out before the sun rises. Nobody will know."

"You make it sound like we're forbidden lovers." Mercedes said receiving a small smile from him. She ran her fingers down his jaw and neck- the soft light painting his milky skin the color of honey. "You okay?" Mercedes asked.

"Yeah." Sam said taking her hand and pressing it to his lips making Mercedes see the pink raw flesh on his knuckles.

"Sam, what did you do?" Mercedes asked worried and taking his hands to examine the damage.

Earlier when Sam was left with nothing but his thoughts as company he just got angrier imagining all the horrible things that f*cker had to say to his girl. Sam was not an aggressive person, he really wasn't, but in that moment he needed some release for his anger so he used a nearby tree as a punching bag. With each painful hit, he imagined the guys face. He imagined the loneliness and pain Mercedes had to go through.

"Nothing."

"Sam."

"I hit a tree. Don't worry I cleaned the wounds."

Mercedes as she kissed his knuckles.

"That makes me feel so much better-"

"Mercedes, can we not do this now." He could feel the approaching lecture. He wrapped his arm around her pulling her closer. He leaned over her to turn off the lamp. He straddled her kissing her deeply pouring all his frustration into it. With no words, he promised to protect her and care for her like that sick bastard did not.

* * *

"I'm not going in there, Sam. I'm not playing with my life like that." Mercedes said as her boyfriend dragged her to the horse stalls. "Animals hate me, Sam. I survived being attacked by sheep, chickens and a vampire pig. I don't think I'll survive getting trampled by a horse or thrown off its back and kicked in the face." Mercedes said as she passed a brown and white horse resting in their stalls

Sam rolled his eyes and opened a stall where a black horse stood proudly. Sam walked inside and patted the nickering horse's cheek.

"Hey big girl."

Mercedes stood on the sidelines- afraid that she would somehow provoke the horse. She decided to keep her distance from all animals after the chickens, geese, sheep and an evil pig tried to kill her a few days ago. She was not going to risk her life anymore…nope, she liked being in the land of the living too much.

She focused on Sam who was busy putting the bridle and saddle on the horse- his muscles contracted and flexed as he worked. His milky skin stretched over each muscle. The sight was quite enjoyable from Mercedes' angle. Her boyfriend was hot...seriously. He looked like a cowboy in some western movie- with his cowboy riding boots, his sleeveless white clinging to every inch of his toned upper body. To complete the look he put on a cowboy hat even though the sun was an hour and a half from setting.

"Raven is calm and chilled, don't worry. Venus- my mom's horse is the mean one. She only lets Mom ride her..." Mercedes tuned the rest of what he said out she was too busy staring at his perfection to care about what he said. "- Mercedes, did you hear what I said?"

"Huh?" Mercedes asked shaking her head. She looked at his gorgeous face to see a smirk.

"Are you enjoying the show?"

She rolled her eyes.

"Yes, now shut up before I change the channel and look for somebody else to stare at. You're ruining it."

Sam walked over to her with a chuckle holding out his hands for her to take leading her deeper into the horse stall.

"Raven is nice. Touch her, she won't do anything." Sam said letting go of her and went back to adjusting the saddle. Mercedes carefully stroked the horse. Raven seemed to enjoy the attention rubbed her nose against Mercedes' arm. Mercedes smiled as she started running her fingers over Raven's short black coat.

"Let me help you up."

She nodded and took Sam's hand as he instructed her how to get on the horse. She scooted backward and made space for Sam to sit. She wrapped her arms around his waist as he held onto the reins.

"Have you ever ridden a horse before?"

"Nope." Mercedes mumbled against the warm skin of his shoulder.

The horse started slowly walking. Mercedes tightened her grip around Sam's waist as the horse increased it speed and ran out of the stalls, following the dirt road. She looked over Sam's shoulder to see the horse running to a large gate at the end of the Evans' property.

"Where are we going?" Mercedes asked resting her chin on Sam's shoulder.

"There's something I want to show you. You'll love it." He said mysteriously as they neared the gate.

After promising Mercedes repeatedly that the horse would not run away with her into the distance, the girl finally let him go so that he could get off the horse and open the gate. Sam led the horse off the property by the reins before chasing Moscow and Sylvester - who decided to follow along, inside and closing the gate.

"How far is this thing you want to show me?" Mercedes asked wrapping her arms around him once he was on the horse again. Sam led the horse towards the woods next to the ranch.

"Sam, aren't there bears?" Mercedes asked.

"Nah, not that I've seen."

"Just because you haven't seen them don't mean they aren't there." Mercedes said. "What about wolves or coyotes?"

"I haven't seen any."

"That really doesn't make me feel better at all," Mercedes said as the horse followed the narrow dirt road. The couple spent ten minutes ridding around in the forest until Sam said:

"I shouldn't have taken a right, I was supposed to take a left. We should have been there by now."

He made the horse stop and turn around.

"Are we lost?"

"No-"

"We are so lost."

"I just took a wrong turn-"

"You don't know where we're going."'

"Yes, I do, I've been there thousand of times before-"

"I can't believe you brought me to the woods only to get lost so that bears or a hungry pack of wolves can eat me." Mercedes said dramatically. "All that will be left is our torn blood-soaked clothes and undigested bones-"

"Has anybody ever told how dramatic you are at times-?"

"And you know what the worst part will be?"

"I have a feeling you're going to tell me-"

"The worst part will be that I'm going to die a virgin." She cried dramatically.

Sam smirked looking at her over his shoulder.

"We still have time to change that."'

Mercedes rolled her eyes and punched him in the gut.

"Ow!"

"Weren't you grunting and hissing in pain a few days ago? I think you still need some recovery time after that ball hit you."

"Oh baby if you wanna see just how well I've recover-"

She hit him before he could continue.

"Stop infecting me with you dirtiness." Mercedes said. "Pure thoughts, Mercedes. Pure thoughts." She chanted under her breath closing her eyes.

Sam chuckled.

"Didn't you once say horseback ridding is better than sex,"

"No, that doesn't sound like me. When did I say that?"

"When we dated in New York. I thought you were breaking up with me because of the whole sex thing and you listed all the things better than sex. It was a short list by the way. Mercedes said her breath tickling his ears.

"Wow, how do you still remember that?"

Mercedes shrugged, "I'm just awesome like that."

"Hmmn. I still have to test the theory of skydiving being better." Sam said. "You want to go skydiving with me? There's a short course for beginners- Stevie had been nagging me for months to go with him."

"Have you ever heard of _1000 Ways To Die_? I love my life, Sam." Mercedes said adjusting her butt on the saddle. "Are we there yet?"

"No"

"Are we there yet?"

"No."

"Are we there-"

"Did you not hear me two seconds ago?"

"My gluteus maximus is getting sore."

"I could massage-"

Mercedes pinched him again.

"Ow."

"Boy, stop being a perv."

"I was about to say I could massage your legs!" Sam cried.

Mercedes rolled her eyes.

"Sure you did."

"You don't know what I'm thinking, woman."

"It's not hard to tell with that smirk on your face."

"You can't see my face."

"I can see your cheekbones and jaw moving."

Sam rolled his eyes.

"Are we there now?" Mercedes asked just for the sake of being annoying.

"As a mater of fact we are."

Mercedes looked over his shoulder. A waterfall became visible through the opening of the trees. The horse followed the path to open grass. The blue waters of a river flew over high rocks before getting pulled down by gravity and forced into the pool of water below gently moving down stream.

"Wow, it's gorgeous, Sam." She said as the horse walked towards a big boulder on the riverbank.

Sam got off before helping her off onto the boulder.

Mercedes took off her sneakers and rolled up her pants as Sam tied the horse to a nearby tree. Mercedes dipped her feet into the cool water.

"This place doesn't have any alligators, right? I don't wanna suddenly lose a leg or something."

Sam chuckled and sat down next to her. He took off his boots and rolled up his denims before following her lead and dipping his legs in the water. The fine droplets of water from the waterfall tickled his warm skin. He wrapped his arms around Mercedes' shoulder. She looked away from the painted skies to him and smiled lacing her fingers with that of the hand hanging on her collarbone. She rested her head on his shoulder, staring at the orange and blue painted skies as she starting humming a song he recognized as Hallelujah by Leonard Cohen. He rested his cheek on her forehead and closed his eyes as she began to sing.

 _"Now I heard there was a secret chord_

 _That David played and it pleased the Lord_

 _But you don't really care for music, do you_

 _It goes like this_

 _The fourth, the fifth, the minor fall, the major lift_

 _The baffled king composing Hallelujah._

 _Hallelujah_

 _Hallelujah_

 _Hallelujah_

 _Hallelujah"_

Her voice washed over him engulfing him in its depth and beauty. He loved listening to her sing. She had a way of demanding attention with her voice even when it was soft and vulnerable like now. When she sang, you wanted to listen because it sounded like an angel singing.

 _"Your faith was strong but you needed proof_

 _You saw her bathing on the roof_

 _Her beauty and the moonlight overthrew you_

 _She tied you to the kitchen chair_

 _She broke your throne and she cut your hair_

 _and from your lips she drew the Hallelujah._

 _Hallelujah_

 _Hallelujah_

 _Hallelujah_

 _Hallelujah..._

Sam silently listened as she continued serenading the heavens with her voice.

 _I did my best, it wasn't much_

 _I couldn't feel so I tried to touch_

 _I've told the truth, I didn't come to fool you_

 _And even though it all went wrong_

 _I'll stand before the Lord of Song_

 _With nothing on my lips but Hallelujah_

 _Hallelujah, Hallelujah_

 _Hallelujah, Hallelujah_

 _Hallelujah, Hallelujah_

 _Hallelujah..._

Once she ended her song, Sam kissed her temple.

"I love you."

She smiled and gently kissed him on the lips.

"I love you too."

* * *

 **BAM!**

 **Wow, that was a long chapter (well to me it was). A chapter of mine is usually 2000-3000 words, sometimes in the 4000's, but this one was like, 8000+.**

 **I do not know how a guy would react if he found out his girlfriend was previously in an emotionally abusing relationship so I kinda winged it with Sam's reaction. Like, was it believable? I see myself as more of a humor writer so emotional deep things aren't really my forte... (but I guess there's no harm in trying).**

 **So what did we think, about not only Mercedes' confession but also the chapter as a whole?**

 **(PS to all you bloodthirsty readers- Yes, Sam will get a chance to hit Conner in his face in a future chapter ;)**


	8. Chapter 8

**Thank you for the previous reviews :) I am glad ya'll still like this story thus far. I just love hearing from you guys :)**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Glee or its characters. I am not making any money off this so...please do not sue me. _The song Make Love To You_ belongs to Boys II Men and _Wicked Tuna_ belongs to National Geographic Channel. I also do not own Moby Dick**

* * *

"This is so boring." Mercedes whined to her boyfriend as she stared at the lake water waiting for something to happen.

Sam chuckled behind her- his chest vibrating against her back. They sat on the wooden dock on a quiet Friday afternoon waiting for a fish to bite the bait. Mercedes was dressed for a day of fishing, armed with a fishing rod, a bait box and the rubber boots she bought when she visited Sam's parents on the farm the previous week. She even had one of her father's fisherman hats to complete her look.

"Fishing takes patience." Sam whispered into her ear wrapping his arms around her waist. "I told you this before we started." He continued kissing her cheek. "You're the one who wanted to fish."

Mercedes pouted. Yes, she was the one who brought up fishing but only because her dad had a bet that she would not be able to catch a fish to save her life. It happened Monday night; her father was in control of the remote watching Wicked Tuna. Mercedes of course lied there bored out of her mind giving unwelcome commentary on how boring the show was and saying 'anybody could catch a fish'. Her father, being a seasoned angler, took offense and bet her she could not catch a fish. He had so little faith in her abilities that he said he would wear a tutu and tights for dinner with Sam's family. If she lost, she would have to wash his car for a month.

Mercedes knew she was not going to win this bet without some help so she called Sam. She was not going to lose this bet even if she needed to cheat. She already bought her father an XL pink sparkly tutu and she saw a pair of size 9 ballet slippers in a shop window with his name on.

"I didn't know it would be _this_ boring." She said kicking her legs dangling off the dock in the air.

After work, Sam texted her to ask if she wanted to do something fun to which she replied 'Today is the last day of the bet. I need to catch a fish'. His siblings and parents would not be arriving in Lima until later that night to celebrate his 25th birthday tomorrow. Mercedes planned a little get together for their families, the Schuester clan, Blaine and Kurt who flew in from New York, and Santana and Brit who were visiting Santana's grandmother.

His siblings would be staying with him in his two-bedroom apartment while his parents were staying with the Jones family for the weekend.

"Like I said; have patience, Baby."

She groaned resting the back of her head against his shoulder.

"I think I just wasted 30 minutes of my life for nothing." She dramatically sighed. "If we don't catch something in 10 minutes I'm going to go buy a whole fish, come back to the lake and take a picture of it with the hook in its mouth to fool my dad into thinking I caught it myself."

She was not going to lose this bet and the sweet victory of seeing her father dressed as a ballerina.

Sam chuckled.

"Isn't that cheating? Wait aren't we cheating now, since I'm helping you?"

"First of all you're not doing anything-"

"I'm the one who tied the hook to the line. I am the one who attached the weights and bobbers. If I remember correctly, I am also the one who baited the hook since you were too grossed out to do that yourself. I'm also the one who got you a fishing license online so you don't -"

"-Have we caught any fish, huh? No, we have not. Like I said; you're not doing anything. Secondly, I want to see my dad in a tutu, Sam. I'm not missing my only opportunity to see my dad in a tutu even if I have to cheat. I already saw a purple pair of ballet shoes in a window that I have to buy-"

Mercedes suddenly gasped.

"I feel something! What do I do?What do I do?" Mercedes asked frantically as the line started moving deeper into the lake.

"Okay lift the rod and slowly reel it in." Sam instructed. "Slowly Mercedes."

"I am doing it slowly!" Mercedes said as she reeled the fish in while simultaneously getting up. She jerked forward as the fish tried getting away.

"That is not slowly. You're reeling it in at the speed of light." Sam said placing his hands on the rods and helping her pull it up.

"You don't even know what the speed of light is"

"Are you insulting my intelligence? It's not like you know what the speed of light is either."

"Whatever, Sam." Mercedes said reeling the fish in painfully slow just to patronize him.

"Okay, you want to let it get away now, grandma?"

"I can't win with you, can I?" she sighed exasperated..

They both pulled the fish out of the water and Mercedes pulled a face as the big fish wiggled in the air. Sam took over for her and told her to grab the cooler while he continued on his own. They watched the thing wither in the cooler as life slowly left it.

"Will it be enough for eight? I'm gonna make garlic bread and Greek salad with stuffed potatoes."

"You really trying to impress the in-laws tonight, I see." Sam smirked. "Don't worry, Babe they already love you."

Mercedes rolled her eyes and continued studying the fish's gills longing for water. She felt guilty.

"Put it out of its misery, Sam."

"It's about to die."

"Yeah, but it's dying a slow, painful death. Just cut its heart out or something."

Sam raised a brow.

"Wow, somebody has some serial killer traits in them. Cut its heart out- violent, Baby."

She rolled her eyes and got up to examine the dying fish. She could see its gills still moving.

"What kinda fish is it?"

"It's a trout."

"It's big. You can feed a small village with it."

"Okay, now you're just exaggerating. I've caught bigger Lake Trouts."

Mercedes smirked.

"I'm sure you have, Trouty Mouth."

He threw her a look.

"You know, it's not too late to throw this thing back into the water."

Mercedes bit her lip seductively, threw her arms around his neck standing, and stood on her toes.

"Oh, Baby, you know I love that mouth of yours." She seductively whispered against his lips before gently biting his lip looking in his eyes. Sam groaned against her mouth and wrapped his arms around her waist.

"I hate it when you do that?"

"What?" She asked innocently.

"You're a Delilah."

"Is that so, my dear Samson?"

Just as he was about to kiss her she placed her hand on his chest and pulled away.

"Clean the fish and you get as many kisses as your heart desires, Sammy." She whispered before escaping his hold

"Like I said, you are so a Delilah."

* * *

"Is it too late to give her up for adoption?" David Jones muttered under his breath as everybody around him laughed. His wife gave him a good-natured punch on the shoulder.

Mercedes and Stacy were leaning against one another each with tears of laughter running down their cheeks as Mary and Dwight Evan's tried keeping in their laughs. Stevie and Sam were laughing with the girls as they watched the heavyset man readjust the short purple tutu. The man had on black tights and pink ballet slippers to complete the look. At least he was wearing a shirt and not a leotard.

"David, why do you have a tutu on?" Dwight asked amused after he got control of his body.

"He doubted my fishing skills so I taught him a lesson." Mercedes answered for her father wiping away tears.

"I still doubt them." David said giving his daughter a glare before focusing on Sam with penetrating glare. "Where were you when she was catching a fish, Sam? The bet was she catches a fish...alone with no help."

Sam's eyes grew for a millisecond before returning to their average size. Luckily, before he could answer (because he was a bad liar under crossfire) Mercedes spoke up.

"Sam was marking tests the whole afternoon, right Sam?."

"Yep, tests." He agreed profusely shaking his head.

The eldest member of the Jones family raised a brow.

"It's just hard to believe that you could have caught a fish that size on your own and cleaned it." David told his daughter suspiciously.

"Well, Mobby Dick and Wicked Tuna have taught me a few things," Mercedes said with a 'what-can-you-do-shrug' before continuing. "Okay, let's go to the dinning room, Pretty Ballerina, my caught fish is getting cold."

Her father threw her a dirty look before turning to her mother.

"Is it really too late to give her up for adoption?"

"Maybe you can show us some of your moves later. I'd love to see a plié and you do a grand jeté, Dad."

"You're out of my will, I have no child."

Mercedes' mother rolled her eyes at her husband who dramatically turned and walked away towards the dinning room- tutu bouncing behind him. Mercedes went back to greeting the Evans family with hugs- just as she was doing before her father came down in his clothes distracting everybody.

"Well, this is going to be a fun weekend." Dwight said amused as he gave Mercedes a small hug. The Jones women laughed.

* * *

Sam was drunk.

Her boyfriend could deny all he wants but he was hammered. A sober Sam would never volunteer to serenade her (in front of their parents and friends) with Boys II Men's - _I'll Make Love To You_. She told Sam to stay away from that concoction that Santana brought to the BBQ but all she got was a _'Babe, I can handle my alcohol_.' Well, _'Babe I Can Handle My Alcohol'_ was now standing on the patio using a pepper grinder as a microphone as he sang the second verse of the love ballad.

 _...I submit to your demands_

 _I'll do anything, girl you need only ask_

 _I'll make love to you_

 _Like you want me to_

 _And I'll hold you tight_

 _Baby all through the night_

 _I'll make love to you_

 _When you want me to..._

In a corner Santana grabbed her small baby belly as she laughed with Brittany who was trying to keep in a laugh by biting her lips. Mercedes looked to her mother, Sam's mother and William Schuester- who was probably thankful his wife took their children home earlier, to see them staring at the train wreck unfolding with wide eyes. Stacy and Stevie were waving their arms trough the air both amusedly singing along. Blaine was shaking his head in shame at his best friend and Kurt was staring at Sam with a raised brow...

Then there were her father next to Sam's father.

The two men were howling with laughter at the look on Mercedes' face. Of course, her sadistic father would find this funny. He was the one who encouraged Sam to sing. Mercedes threw her dad an annoyed glare to which he responded to by laughing- oh how sweet revenge was.

Mercedes decided to put an end to Sam's performance and walked on the 'stage'. She gently took his hands cutting him off and pried the grinder from his hands

"But, I'm busy serenading you." Sam said looking at her like a hurt puppy.

"I know but I have something to show you...far from here...where you won't embarrass us any further."

"What?" He asked as she led him off the patio. In the background Stacy, Stevie and Santana clapped their hands.

"Encore!" Santana shouted.

Mercedes glared at the pregnant woman before looking back into her boyfriend's hazy eyes.

Sam needed to go home and sleep this off. Mercedes told everybody she was going to take Sam home and asked Stacy and Stevie if they wanted to tag along to which they agreed.

"Come on, Sam." She said leading him through the glass doors of the kitchen away from their laughing friends and family.

"Where are your keys?" Mercedes asked feeling his pockets making him giggle like a schoolgirl when her hands brushed over her thighs.

Mercedes rolled her eyes taking his keys and leading the Evans siblings out the front door and onto the driveway.

"Mercedes, I want to drive."

"No, you're drunk."

"I'm as sober as a duck that just came back from a swim in the Artic Ocean."

Stacy and Stevie threw each other _WTF_ looks as Mercedes raised a brow at the analogy that made no sense whatsoever. It was just a testament to how drunk was.

"You are drunk, Sam." Sam looked at her like a kicked puppy grabbing his chest dramatically for him as she opened the passenger side door. He pouted before climbing in as his siblings chuckled.

"Please don't hurt my baby, Mercedes. She's the love my life" Sam begged his girlfriend prompting her to roll her eyes as she reversed out of the driveway.

The whole ride through Sam decided to feed his boredom and sang for his audience. Much to Mercedes dismay it seems that Will Schuester love for all things 'Journey' rubbed off on Sam. Her boyfriend sang as many Journey songs he could in the amount of time it took driving towards his apartment complex. Of course, Stacy and Stevie were enjoying the show, as she felt embarrassed for her boyfriend.

Once at the apartment complex Stevie wanted to help his brother up the stairwell but Sam slapped his hands away and told him, he was _'a grown man who does not need his help'_. Sam then climbed on a step and fell forward catching himself as he giggled...yes her boyfriend just giggled. Stevie tried helping him again but he refused and said _'only Mercedes is allowed to touch me'_. Mercedes rolled her eyes and helped Sam up as he cheekily grinned at her.

"Did you like my song, Mercedes?" Sam asked sounding like a preschooler seeking praise.

"Yep it was beautiful." She said paying half attention as she let go of his hands and wrapped her arm around his waist to help him up the stairs.

"I mean it." He said seriously looking at her. The drunk haziness in his eyes disappeared for a few seconds as he gave her a penetrating stare.

Mercedes took a deep breath looking away before clearing her throat. She felt hot all of a sudden. Luckily, Sam's siblings did not hear him say that to her.

"I'm sure you do." She said hoarsely.

Sam wrapped his arms around her shoulder and hummed the song as his girlfriend helped him up the stairs. He got a whiff of her DKNY perfume and stopped singing to say:

"You smell like apples. Do you taste like apples too? I bet you do. You taste like an apple covered in chocolate."

Mercedes bit her lip trying to stop herself from laughing as she handed Stacey Sam's apartment keys. Stacey opened the door and switched on the light switch flooding the room with light. Mercedes was about to let go of Sam, however he tightened his hold on her and asked her to take him to his room as Stacy and Stevie raided the fridge for something sweet to eat while they watch TV. Mercedes complied and led him down the short hallway into his room.

She was about to turn the light on when Sam said 'no' and threw the door close behind them. She led him to the bed- with the help of the full moon shinning through his open windows. Rather than letting her go, he pulled her down on top of him.

"You haven't given me my gift, Mercedes. What did you buy me?" Sam pouted looking up at his girlfriend. He looked like a toddler who did not get his way.

"I bought you a star." Mercedes said trying to get off but failing due to Sam tightening his hold on her. The certificate and coordinates for the star was on her bedside table.

She thought long and hard about what to give him for his birthday. At first, she thought of buying him an expensive car...but it did not feel sincere enough and if Sam wanted a new car, he could buy one for himself (it is not like he did not have the money). Since Sam was dorky, she decided to buy him something that screamed Sci-Fi. On a website in search for the perfect gift, she found an ad to name and 'buy' a star. She knew her dorky boyfriend would love that so she clicked on the ad and followed the instructions to 'buy' a little piece of the cosmos.

"I named it Death Star- I thought you'd like it. I have the coordinates. I'll show you once you're sober."

Sam gave her a lopsided smile. Even in his inebriated state, he could feel a tug on his heartstrings. Mercedes just got him like no one else did. No one else would ever thought of buying him a star. His girlfriend was perfect.

"Marry me." He said in awe.

Mercedes laughed shaking her head. He gently kissed her making her taste the lemon and lime flavored alcohol on his lips.

"You need to sleep this off." She said pulling away and trying yet again to get off but failing because Sam refused to let her go.

"Sleep with me." Once the words left his mouth Sam thought about what he said before bursting out in laughter. "I didn't mean it like that. Okay maybe there is a part of me that totally meant it like that but you can't blame me when you're wearing that dress, now can you?" Sam said gazing at her cleavage pressed against his chest. "You really shouldn't wear dresses like that, 'Cedes. I even saw Blaine do a double take of you boobs. If he weren't gay our friendship would be in ruins."

Mercedes rolled her eyes and flicked his forehead making him look up from her boobs with a drunken smirk.

She decided to lie down with him until he fell asleep. She let him roll her to his side before leaning over her and giving her a sleep smile. He kissed her cheek moving to her earlobe and sucked it before his lips found her neck. He sucked her skin, tasting her with his tongue. Mercedes moaned, her heart drumming in her chest, every sensitive nerve in her body felt on fire. She bit her lip trying to suppress a sigh of ecstasy.

 _They could not be doing this now with his siblings in another room_.

"Red skull."

Sam stopped kissing her neck and rolled off her looking at the glow in the dark constellation stickers on his roof. He took deep calming breaths trying to gain control of his body. They lied in silence for a few seconds with only their heavy breathing echoing through the room. Sam wrapped his arms around Mercedes and pulled her closer. She placed her head on his shoulder and kissed his cheek running a hand down Sam's chest. He kissed her forehead and closed his eyes.

"I'm gonna miss you next week." Sam said rubbing her back.

"It's just for seven days, Sam."

"Yeah, I know but these past six weeks we've seen each other, like, every other day. Not seeing you for a week is gonna be weird." He pouted. "You're my favorite thing to look at, Mercedes."

Mercedes chuckled.

"Well, I'm glad you're enjoying the exhibition that is Mercedes Jones- I can't really blame you now can I? But, unfortunately you have to share me with the big wide world. This sexiness can't be tamed, Baby, not even by you."

Sam gave an amused smile closing his eyes as he continued rubbing her back. He gave a small yawn before suddenly saying.

"I'm happy, Mercedes. I am, like really so happy right now...and maybe a little drunk too but I'm happy. You make me happy, Mercedes." He loved this feeling of pure joy coursing through his veins. He loved waking up knowing that the love of his life loved him too. The only thing that would make him happier is having her as his wife and waking up to her beautiful face every morning one day, hopefully not too far from the present.

He was dead serious when he told her years ago he said he wanted to marry her eventually when they were ready. He wanted to have a family with a house and a yard and kids. He was ready for all of that…he's been ready for years now.

He wanted to ask her to marry him but they have only been dating for six week now.

"You make me happy too, Sam." She whispered.

Sam gave a sleepy smile feeling the drowsiness of the alcohol. He held onto Mercedes his breathing growing deeper by the minutes until he was out like a light in la-la land.

Mercedes slowly slipped out of his arms careful not to wake him. Sam groaned once she was out of his arms and subconsciously reached out for her. It was kinda cute in her opinion. She gave him a pillow, which seemed to calm him judging by the way that he buried half of his cheek into the pillow. Mercedes ruffled his hair and pressed a lingering kiss on his forehead before slipping out of the room.

* * *

"Sam it's just two weeks, it's not as if you're sending me off to war." Mercedes said to her pouting boyfriend. She mentally rolled her eyes. Even though Sam was a man of 25, he still had the temperament of a dramatic 12 year old at times.

"I'm just going to miss you." He said before dramatically sighing and looking into the distance. "Just thinking off all those cold nights alone in bed without you breaks my heart.."

"First of all it's spring so the nights are not cold and secondly, you already sleep in your bed alone."

Sam groaned.

"Mercedes, I'm trying to brood. Let me brood, woman."

Mercedes rolled her eyes as she let Sam pull her closer.

"You said, it will only be for a week now its two weeks." Sam complained.

Mercedes wrapped an arm around his waist.

"I know, babe but Santana and Brit's new show _'Young and Gay in L.A''_ launch party is next weekend and what kind of friend would I be if I don't show up. Plus I have an interview and photo shoot with _Time_ magazine next Tuesday." She stood on her toes and kissed him deeply before pulling away. "I'll be back before you know it."

Sam sighed against her lips and kissed her gently before letting her go.

"I love you."

"I love you too." She said gently squeezing his hands before letting go. "I'll call you once I land." She said slowly backing up.

He gave her a small smile before she turned around and walked away...

* * *

 **I hope you enjoyed. The next chapter will be all about Mercedes in LA.**

 **Please review. Reviews motivate you to update frequently, I've noticed :)**


	9. Chapter 9-Part I

**Thank you for the comments on the previous chapter- they make my day. I hope you guys enjoy.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own glee. I do not own Justin Bieber.**

 **I hope you all enjoy and do not be shy to comment.**

 **I now present Chapter 9- part 1**

* * *

"Welcome back to L.A, Mercedes."

"How was your world tour?"

"Is it true you plan on working on a new album soon?"

Mercedes ducked her head trying to hide with the help of her hair and black fedora as she followed behind her bodyguard carrying her bags. She readjusted her sunglasses, thankful that she decided to put them on after getting off the plane since they were now protecting her eyes from the blinding flashes of the paparazzi's cameras.

"How is your relationship with Sam going?"

"Mercedes, is it true that he asked you to marry him?"

Mercedes ignored the questions the men were asking and tried hiding behind her taller personal assistant next to her. Mercedes linked her arm through Ella's and let her lead them to the airport exit to find the driver leaning against the black Landover. The man straightened his spine and opened the car door for her and her assistant.

"Is it true he took you to meet his parents?" Another voice asked behind her.

She climbed into the car with her assistant and closed the door as the driver and her bodyguard put her belongings in the trunk.

"I really did not miss the paparazzi." Mercedes told Ella.

"Yeah they are maddening." The redhead said handing her a bottle of water. "So how was Lima?"

"It was amazing- until the paparazzi decided to ruin everything."

Ella threw her a sympathetic look.

"How are things between you and Sam?" Ella asked nosily as if they were on a sleepover.

Ella has been her PA for the past three years and in that time, she and the girl bonded since they were around each other a lot. In those years she and the tall blonde shared some deep things with one another. Ella helped her with her decision to break up with Conner even though she did not know the full-story.

"It's going amazing between us. We visited his parents two weeks ago." Mercedes said taking a sip of the water. "Congrats on the engagement by the way." Mercedes said giving her a small hug. "When is the wedding?"

"In a few weeks, Haru and I plan on eloping in Vegas after things cool down for you again." Ella said with a sad smile. "My parents don't want to be part of the wedding since he and I 'come from different cultural backgrounds. Because of those differences our marriage will not work'." Mercedes gave her a sad tight smile as tears formed in her friend's eyes. "I mean is it really such an abomination to love someone who is another race than you? I mean, seriously. I do not understand why they dislike him, Mercedes. It is so freaking hard. It's like it's us against the world." Ella said wiping away tears.

Mercedes squeezed her hand. Yeah, being in an interracial relationship was hard but at least she and Sam had the support of their parents and friends. Neither has met the rest of each other's family but they did share stories and from those stories, Mercedes found out a pair of Sam's grandparents were not too thrilled over the fact that he was dating a black girl. A few of his aunts and uncles also made it clear that they did not support their relationship. However, the saddest part was that their were people in Sam's family their age- children who weren't born in a dived world that thought one race is better than another, who thought their relationship was repulsive.

In Mercedes family, mostly family members from her Dad's side had a thing against white people for some horrible thing that happened in the past. Her own grandmother almost disowned her when she found out her granddaughter was seeing a white man.

But they both knew- even when they started dating in high school- that there would people close to them who would not support their relationship. They might live in a culture where the majority embraced changes, but there would always be people stuck in the ignorance of the past.

"This is your life and your happiness at stake. I get how hard it is, I do. But if Haru is _'the one'_ then every side remark, every hateful glare is worth it all in the end."

Ella wiped away tears and shook her head trying to clear it from the negative thoughts before smiling and changing the subject.

"You wanna be part of my wedding. You can even invite the infamous Sam Evans." Ella said. "I need to meet this guy who's wanted Mercedes loving for the past five years."

Mercedes laughed as the car pulled away from the airport.

"I'd love to be part of your wedding." Mercedes said touched by the gesture and hugged her again. "So, how's my schedule?" Mercedes asked.

"Well, we have a meeting with Ava and Rebecca now, after that we have a meeting with Luciana to decide on what you are going to wear Saturday night. Thursday you have a radio interview. Saturday, it is the fundraising gala. Next Tuesday you have an interview with Time. Next Saturday it's the ' _Young and Gay in L.A'_ premier party. The weekend after it's the billionaire wedding in India you're singing at..."

"Wait-what?" Mercedes asked confused.

"Yeah, remember during the tour I told you this filthy rich Hip-Hop mogul's daughter is getting married to the son of an equally rich Bollywood actor. She loves your music and wants you to perform at her wedding. They already paid for you to come."

"Was I sober when you told me this?" Mercedes jokingly asked. The last time she was drunk was at Rachel's 'soirée' years earlier. After the humiliation of puking in front of the student body, she decided to keep her distance from heavy alcohol. In addition, with her celebrity and the fact that she was supposed to be a 'role model' stumbling out of a club at three in the morning was not something her manager allowed her to do.

"Yes."

"Did I say yes?" Mercedes asked confused.

Ella nodded.

"Are you sure?"

Mercedes could not remember agreeing to perform at a wedding.

"Yes and your exact words were: 'it's a wedding, Ella. I have to do this for the sake of love'."

"Are you sure I wasn't drunk when I said that?" It sounded like something a drunk would say.

Ella laughed.

"No you weren't, but you did come out of Angelo's dressing room when I asked you if you wanted to do it- and we both know Angelo does have a secret love for weed so you may have been a little high when you came out of there."

Mercedes laughed thinking about her wild opening act. She shook her head taking out her phone and texting Sam that she arrived in L.A.

"Okay, since it's just a wedding and not a full on production, I think the band and background singers will be enough, right?" She asked as she texted Sam.

Ella took out her phone and started working on Mercedes' schedule. "I'll call Juliet, Olivia and Carly to arrange rehearsals for this and next week. I'll book the flights and go through all the details with the family this week."

Mercedes nodded and proceeded to look out the window as Ella continued on her phone. She watched the skyscrapers pass her by as she unrolled the windows of the car.

"Oh by the way Rebecca and Ava are ready with lectures. I'm just warning you before hand." Eva said. "They both agree you should make a public statement your relationship with Sam."

Mercedes rolled her eyes of course Rebecca and Ava were both ready with lectures on hand...

* * *

Mercedes walked through the doors of the private elevator into the penthouse she has not lived in for over six months. She felt the nearby wall until her fingers slid over the light switch. The sharp light swept over each part of the white living area and furniture. Next to her couch she saw the suitcases her bodyguard brought up for her while she was meeting with her PA, manager and publicist.

She was exhausted.

After nearly a two hour meeting with her 'power squad' she was whisked off into a meeting with her stylist for something to wear to the charity. After that she and Ella went through the details of her trip New Delhi

She kicked off her heels and threw them in a nearby corner before walking to her couch, throwing her handbag on the coffee table and throwing herself on the couch. She closed her eyes for a few seconds groaning into the cushions when she felt her phone ringing and vibrating in her back pocket. She debated on ignoring the phone call but decided against it. She sighed before answering the phone.

"Hi."

Mercedes smiled at the sound of her boyfriend's chirpy voice reached her ears.

"Hi." She repeated getting off the couch planning to raid the fridge before remember she probably didn't have any food. The food she had before the tour, her cleaning crew probably threw away when her PA sent them to clean her place this morning. She made a mental note to do some shopping the next day as she looked for a food menu in her drawers while her boyfriend spoke.

"How was your day, Baby?"

"I'm exhausted. How was yours?"

She could hear the television play in the background

"My days are boring without you." He complained. "Luckily, it's just fourteen days."

Mercedes guiltily bit her lip pulling a face.

"About that..." She began

"No Mercedes..." Sam groaned.

"I'm so sorry, Sam. I totally forgot that I'm performing at a wedding in New Delhi-"

"Wait, you're a wedding singer now?" Sam asked confused.

Mercedes rolled her eyes.

"It's a billionaire's daughter's wedding and she really wants me to perform at her wedding. He is like paying me hundreds of thousands of dollars- I can buy food for five small villages for three months. It's not like I'm changing occupations." She said sitting down and flipping through the food menu. "I can't just cancel now. It is a wedding, Sam; I am doing this for the sake of love. Imagine booking Justin Bieber to sing at your wedding and he cancels suddenly, how would you feel?" She knew she was hitting below the belt using his favorite singer against him.

She heard Sam groan and muttered:

"That was so unfair!"

Mercedes gave a guilty smile.

"You just have to-" Sam stopped mid sentence when an idea struck him. "Wait; are you giving me permission to book Justin Bieber for our wedding?"

Mercedes smiled shyly. Since coming back from his parents, Sam has been hinting at weddings and all things marriage. Mercedes did not want to get ahead of herself and think Sam wanted to propose. She had mixed feelings at the thought of marriage now. It is not that she did not love Sam, 'cause she did, a lot but there was a piece of her that thought they were moving too fast,

"Really, Sam?"

"What? I'm just asking?" He said innocently before sighing. "So, how long will you be in New Delhi?"

"A week or so. I'll fly back the day after the wedding...I'm just staying for the free food." She joked.

"When will you be back?" He asked.

"In a little more than three weeks. I plan on coming straight home from New Delhi, promise." Mercedes

"Okay, but once you come back I have something big planned for us." Sam said his voice dropping a few octaves

"And what is that?" She asked seductively.

"You'll just have to wait and see." He answered mysteriously before changing the subject: "So what are you doing?"

"I'm staring at my empty fridge in the corner trying to use my psychokinesis to magically teleport food from the grocer into my empty fridge." She said. "So far it ain't working. And you?"

"I'm watching some cooking show. Do you have any idea how hungry I am now?"

Mercedes laughed.

"Sooooo, what are you wearing?" He asked huskily.

Mercedes raised a brow, though no one could see her.

"Did you really just ask me that?"

"Did I stutter?"

"I know what you're trying to do?"

"What am I trying to do?"

"Really, 'what are you wearing?'" Mercedes said deepening her voice to resemble that of a man. "We both know where that sentence usually leads. You are so dirty, Sam."

"I was only kidding!"

"Sure you were."

"Are you a mind reader, Mercedes?" He asked smartly.

"I can read your mind, Evans."

"Is that so, what am I thinking now?"

Mercedes thought about.

"About how hot I look in that black nightgown you were so fond of when I slept over." She said planting the image in his head.

Sam groaned. "Are you wearing it now?" He croaked out huskily.

Mercedes rolled her eyes knowing where this was going.

"I'm not a phone sex operator, Sam."

"Ooooh, you'd make a sexy phone sex operator." Sam lowly murmured. "Talk dirty to me, Mercedes. Do it in a Russian accent."

"You're such a pervert, Sam. You're lucky I love you enough to deal with your perverted ways." Mercedes said.

Sam chuckled.

The couple talked on the phone for half- an hour more, catching up in all that happened through the day. Afterwards Mercedes ordered a pizza before jumping in the shower. Twenty minutes later, she dressed in tracksuit pants and received a call from the door attendant to alert her of her pizza. She went down to the lobby to pay the person. She was about to go back to her penthouse floor when Anderson stopped her.

"Mrs. Jones, I forgot to give you these earlier." The salt-and-pepper haired man said placing a bouquet of white roses on the counter. "They were delivered at four. I put them in water for you."

Mercedes took the flowers with a smile pleasantly surprised. She thanked the man and stepped into the elevator taking a whiff of her flowers. As the elevator moved, she searched the roses for a card to see who they were from. After her mini search, she found a folded note with her name perfectly scribbled on in it. The elevator dinged opening into her living area. She read the card walking through the open metal doors.

 _Heard you are back in L.A. How about dinner tomorrow night?_

 _-Conner._

' _This was not happening.'_ \- Mercedes thought disgusted yet astounded. _'How dare he?_ '

She could feel the anger boiling in her veins. She walked to the trashcan ready to throw the flowers away when her phone rang on her kitchen island.

"Hello?" She asked tearing up the card.

"Hey, did you get the flowers?" The familiar voice asked sweetly. Her heart dropped to her shoes at the memories and feelings the voice brought with it.

"Yeah, I did. I'm throwing them away as we speak." She said bitterly discarding the note in the trash then the flowers. "What do you want?" She asked sharply.

"I just heard you were back in town and I just wanted to know if you wanted to meet up for dinner." He said sweetly before chuckling. "I thought I made it clear in the note."

"Why?" She was starting to get irritated.

"That's what friends do-"

"We are not friends." She cut him off.

"Auw, come on Mercedes we haven't seen each other in what, a little more than a year? And when last have we spoken? Friends go to dinner and catch up…" Conner coaxed. "Or...wait is your escort boyfriend going get upset?"

"You know what, go to hell, Conner." Mercedes hissed. "I know what you're trying to do and it won't work."

"What do you think I'm trying to achieve, Mercy-baby?" He asked.

"Relevance. You are trying to use me to gain significance again since your album sales dropped."

He chuckled.

"That brain of yours was always the sexiest part of you." He said before turning serious. "Now, I need you to use that sexy brain of yours and ponder about what I'm about to say to you for a while. We both can get something out of this. Remember when we were music royalty? We can be that again. You can't tell me the thing you have with that stripper is real-"

Before he could continue, Mercedes hung up the phone. She was about to go off on him like a missile in English, Swiss, French, German, Spanish, Celtic and gibberish.

She was so angry she could throw something. She put her phone down before she was tempted to throw it. She glared at the trashcan and white flower petals around the metal can. Before she could erupt in anger though her phone vibrated on the table. She took a deep calming breath before reading the message. She smiled when she saw her boyfriend's name on the screen.

' _Love you, sweet dreams babe. :)'_

A small smile grew on her lips as she read it. She texted him back a heart emoticon.

She decided not to let her ex-boyfriend ruin her night; Conner Allan Grey could jump off a bridge or something for all she cared. She had an amazing boyfriend who loved her unconditionally: that was enough to send her off to bed tonight with a smile on her face.

* * *

 **Part II is coming soon- spoiler alert...there will be a proposal! Review :)**


	10. Chapter 9-Part II

**Lamimi25 gave me the idea for the proposal- thanks love.**

 **Thanks for all the reviews and love! You all are amazing.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Glee or its characters. If The Person / Rapper named 'Dredd' exist, know that this is just coincidental**

* * *

Mercedes lied under the finest linen in her suite. Outside she could hear the soft howls of the wind against her massive windows.

She stared at her gorgeous boyfriend smiling at her holding a big bowl of Spaghetti in his hands. His emerald shirt brought out the color of his forest green eyes partially hidden behind a curtain of blond hair.

"Hey," Mercedes said waving at Sam through the small window of her laptop screen. She gave a tired smile as he popped the fork in his mouth.

"Hey, Babe. What time is it over there?" He asked notching the silk pajama shirt she was wearing

"It's three in the morning over here." Mercedes said with a yawn. "The wedding celebrations just ended. I'm so tired." She said with a small smile as she stretched. "Maybe I should become a wedding singer for the rich and famous. There's big bucks in this."

Sam chuckled.

"I can't wait 'till you're home." Sam said taking another bite of his spaghetti dinner. The spaghetti fell off the fork onto his green shirt. She saw him put the bowl down before pulling the shirt over his head and filling her laptop screen with all his perfection. Mercedes bit her lip welcoming the site. Sam threw the shirt next to him giving her a boyish grin when he noticed the trance she was in as her eyes roamed over his body.

"Are you enjoying the view?"

"Maybe."

"In a few days you can see all of this-" He gestured to his upper body. "-in person. If you're a good girl I'll even let you touch." He winked at her.

Mercedes chuckled as she awkwardly rubbed her arm not knowing how to phrase her next words..

"About that, you know the rapper and producer Dredd? Well he is working on a new album and he asked me to collaborate on a song with him-"

"Mercedes-" Sam began knowing where she was going. "-first you said one week, then two before it became three."

She sighed biting her lip as a cloud of guilt formed over her head.

"I know. I know but he's the person who helped me write my first number one and I'm his go to girl for a hit song like he's my go to guy-"

Sam could care less if he was the king of Wales. He was being selfish- but hell, he has not seen her in weeks and by the rate she is working, he will never get to see her.

"You said you'll be home by Wednesday-"

"I know-"

"Then why aren't you coming home?" He asked exasperated. "You said you were taking a break. This is not taking a break!"

Yes, even he heard he sounded like a jerk stuck in the 1940s that was monitoring his girlfriend. But he missed her and it felt like she was finding more excuses not to come home.

"First of all don't tell me what I said because I know." She said feeling irritation slowly make its way through her bloodstream,. "It's just another week, Sam, not a millennium-"

Sam gave a humorless laugh staring shaking his head at her in awe of her how she was blatantly ignoring his feeling

"So you want me to wait around for you like a little puppy waiting for its master-"

"I never said that-" She interrupted

"You're insinuating that!" Sam exclaimed throwing his arms in the air frustrated. "You're not the only one in this relationship, Mercedes."

Mercedes tried taking a deep breath as a control measure before slowly talking.

"I already made other commitments, Sam. You can't just expect me to cancel all my plans-"

"I don't expect you to!" He shouted glaring at her trying to get his message across. "But what I do expect of you is the common decency to consult me before you take on any projects that would keep you away longer than planned."

Mercedes could not believe what she was hearing. How dare he have the audacity to try to micro-manage her?

"You are not my master, Sam! I do not need your permission to do anything." She said sharply- venom dripping out of every word. "These are not the slave days or the 1950s were women had to ask their husbands if they can take a walk around the park."

"Nobody said you were a slave or that you needed to change into a mannequin housewife who just nods like a brainless zombie-"

"Well, that is the message I'm getting." Mercedes said crossing her arms. "So, Sam what are you trying to tell me?" She asked sarcastically.

Sam lost the fight of trying to control his anger.

"You are selfish!" Sam snapped glaring at her with forest green eyes. There he said it. It was out in the open for the first time..

She pressed her hand to her heart as if it would protect it from his piercing words. Astound by hid words she breathlessly asked:

"I'm what?"

"You heard me the first time; you are selfish." He said letting his fury control his mouth. "You only consider your views and feelings and expect me to just be fine with it. In this relationship you treat me like the 1950s housewife who just says 'yes' and 'Amen' to everything you say."

Mercedes humorlessly laughed- mostly out of shock.

"That's delusional."

"Yes, because Sam is always delusional when he tries pointing out your flaws!" He bitterly says.

"Oh please, as if you are such a saint!" Mercedes said sarcastically rolling her eyes.

Sam shook his head.

"I never claimed to be one." He said slowly. "But I know mutual respect for the other person's feelings is needed in a relationship. And you have bupkis for me."

"Well, if you feel like that why are you dating me?" She hissed throwing her arms in the air.

He silently stared at her with a shock expression on his face- not able to believe she was asking that question. He gave a somber laugh sadly shaking his head as hurt and frustration pierced through his soul.

"I wonder the same thing."

Mercedes just stared at him for a few seconds before blinking and looking away.

"Clearly this was a mistake since we are not on the same page." She said gesturing between the two of them.

Sam gave a bitter laugh in disbelieve. Before shaking his head and letting his anger get the best of him.

"You know what?" He said wiping his hands clean. "I'm done. I do not need this. You clearly do not respect me enough or even care enough to include me in your decisions. You also made it clear you don't plan on ending it soon so...I'm tapping out."

With those words out of his mouth, he closed his laptop. Her screen turned black. She sat mouth agape unable to believe what just happened.

 _'Did he just break up with her?'_

Her first reaction was not sadness… no it was anger. How could he not understand that she had responsibilities? How could he not see that she loved and missed him but as much as she would like to hide under a rock-, she was still Mercedes Jones world famous singer?

She owed the people who put her on the map her royalty and she was going to give it to them. She cannot just forget the rapper and producer who collaborated with her on her first ever number one single back in the day. She could not just tell the man who mentored her _'no'_ when he asked if they could do a duet for a song on his up and coming album. And it's not like they were going to shoot a music video and promote and perform the song which would take months. No, she was just going to spend a day or two in the recording session and a few last minute things in L.A before going home.

She pulled her knees to her chest and closed her laptop.

* * *

She was angry, she was lonely and she was unbearably sad. She was also dead tired. After talking to Sam, she was too angry to cry...and in all honesty too tired. She did not cry in the plane because she was not a public crier. This afternoon after the plane landed her management team and she went through her schedule for a week before she flew back to Lima-, which her manager was not happy about, afterwards she headed to the studio to start writing with 'Dredd'. They have been writing lyrics and losing themselves in the creative process from four o'clock. It was now eight-thirty.

She walked into the lobby - exhausted. She was jetlagged. She was emotionally drained with Sam breaking up with her and then Rebecca had to come along and tried setting up more gigs and projects for just so she could ride the 'free-money' train named Mercedes Jones. Mercedes wanted nothing more than to lie in her bed and just cry in her misery. She just wanted to out her emotions and get it over with.

She gave the graying doorman a small smile hiding the throbbing pain inside her.

"Ms. Jones a young man has been waiting for you the whole day." Anderson said pointing to the figure sleeping on one of the lobby sofas in the corner in an awkward position. Mercedes raised a brow confused wondering why her...boyfriend? was here.

"The poor kid has been here since 2pm but I couldn't let him into your penthouse without your consent. He called you but you didn't answer your phone."

Her phone died after she stepped off the plane with Ella so she did not get his calls. A small smile broke over her face when she realized he has been waiting for her for the past six and a half hours.

Anderson handed her two bouquets of flowers before she could walk towards Sam and wake him.

"Sam brought the purple tulips and asked me to put them in water for you. The roses came this morning." Mercedes mentally rolled her eyes knowing whom the white roses came from. Conner has been religiously sending her flowers and presents these past three weeks- even when she was aboard. He sent her text begging her to meet up with him so they could 'talk'. She was tempted to meet him for lunch just to tell them face to face that she was not doing with this with him. She was not falling for his tricks.

She thanked Anderson for the flowers and made her way to the sleeping man curled in an uncomfortable looking ball on the white antique sofa.

"Sam." She gently said nudging him with her free arm. Sam groaned before taking a deep breath and continuing sleeping. She nudged him again and repeated his name. He groaned again but opened his eyes groggily studying his environment before his gaze landed on Mercedes. He gave her a sleepy smile and uncoiled his legs.

"Hey." He hoarsely said before getting up and stretching.

"Hey." She said awkwardly pressing the flowers to her chest as she gave a tight awkward smile.

They stared at each other in silence- words burned both their tongues but neither said anything. Sam opened his mouth to say something but closed it when he realized he did not know what to say or how to say it. Mercedes did the same. She swallowed the lump in her throat before taking a deep breath.

"I was jerk." He said.

"I'm sorry." She said the exact same time

Sam rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly chuckling as she gave a small smile staring at her boots.

"I think we should go up to my place and talk in private" Mercedes said nodding at Anderson who was trying too hard- in Mercedes opinion- trying to seem disinterested in what the young couple were saying by pretending to focus on the lobby doors.

Sam chuckled and grabbed his bag following Mercedes into the elevator. Before the metal doors closed, Sam waved at the 49- year old.

"Bye Anderson."

"Goodnight Sam. Goodnight Ms Jones."

Mercedes gave him a small smile as the doors closed. Awful elevator music filled the moving room as the two lovers stared at one another- awkwardness bouncing off them both.

Sam decided to speak first.

"I'm sorry about what I said to you." Remorse rang in his voice. "I was lonely and I was angry which made me act rash," he explained. "I love you Mercedes and I don't want to break up; that was just the disappointment and frustration talking. It felt like you didn't care about me at all. I mean every time I got excited about you finally coming home you tell me you're staying a little longer." The disappointment shone in his green eyes. "Do you know how that made me feel?" He asked.

"I never meant for you to feel that way, Sam." Mercedes said gently.

"I know you didn't." He said. "But put yourself in my shoes, how would you feel?"

Mercedes thought about it for a few seconds and sighed. She understood where he was coming from but it is not as if she did not miss too.

"Though my feelings were righteous, I didn't handle it correctly. Shouting at you was not the right thing to do." He said taking her free hand in his. "I am sorry."

"You were right." Mercedes said staring at their linked hands before looking up at him. "I was inconsiderate." She confessed. "Tomorrow after the recording session I'm taking the first flight back home."

Sam wrapped his arm around her and gave her a lopsided grin.

"Well, I have taken week off work and I was kinda hoping you'll show me all the attractions." Sam said pulling her closer as the elevator doors open into her living area. She stood on the tip of her toes and kissed him gently before pulling away and pulling him out of the elevator into her home.

"So, what about Glee; don't you have Sectionals in three weeks?" Mercedes asked as she led him to the kitchen.

"Amelia is taking over for the week since the Troubletones didn't make it to Sectionals." Sam explained.

Mercedes nodded putting her handbag down on the kitchen island. She grabbed a vase with dying flowers in it as Sam walked studying around her place. She took the dying flowers out of the vase and placed them on the table before empting the vase from the old water and filling it with fresh water placing the purple tulips in the antique flower vase

"Thanks for the flowers." She said as Sam looked out of her large windows at the L.A night

"I know tulips are your favorite flowers." Sam said turning back to her as she placed the flowers on the table. "So where did you get the roses?"

Mercedes raised a brow pulling a face before changing the subject:

"You must be starving, let me see what I have in the fridge-"

"Andy and I had a pizza earlier." Sam said before walking towards her. "So, who are the roses from?" He asked curiously, as she gathered the roses and dead flowers in her arms.

"So, how was your flight?"

"Mercedes."

"Sam." Mercedes mockingly said in the same tone walking backwards as he came near with curious look on his face.

He trapped her against the counter.

Mercedes sighed rolling her eyes.

"Just some guy."

"What guy?"

"What's with the questioning; am I under trial?"

"I trust you with my whole heart. Its other guys I don't trust." He said taking the card in the roses and reading it aloud.

"Don't play hard to get Mercedes- you know I'm a man who doesn't give up easily. Ignoring my calls will not make me stop. We can magic together again- Conner."

Sam raised a brow folding his arms over his chest. He could feel anger boiling the blood in his veins.

"He's been sending me flowers and gifts trying to get me back." She explained taking the card from his hands and throwing it with the flowers into the trashcan nearby.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Sam asked calmly even though he was frustrated and hurt.

"I didn't want to worry you with nonsense." Mercedes explained. "There's noting you could have done from Lima anyway. Plus I was dealing with it by ignoring him- he will stop."

"Yes there's noting I could have done from Lima but I'd like to know these things, Mercedes." Sam calmly said trying to do his best not to snap at her. "I hate it when you don't tell me these things, Mercedes! We are in a relationship. We share things like that with one another."

"Okay, fine, I'm sorry. I'll work on communication and tell you every little detail in my life." She cried throwing her hands in the air in surrender.

"You don't sound sorry!" Sam shouted back.

Mercedes sighed running her hands over her face before looking up at him. She didn't want to fight with him.

"I'm sorry did not tell you. I decided to handle it on my own, which was stupid and unnecessary because I have you to share my problems.

Mercedes took his hands.

"No more hiding things, I promise." Mercedes said. She pouted giving him puppy dog eyes. "Am I forgiven?"

Sam sighed.

"Yeah but-"

She interrupted him was sweet kiss that soon became passionate and frenzied. Someway, somehow she ended up on the counter with her legs around his waist, hands fisting his shirt underneath his open jacket. After the kiss Sam rested his forehead against hers looking into her liquid chocolate eyes.

"I missed you."

She smiled and pressed a second long kiss to his lips.

* * *

"Ms Jones, Ms Cohen-Chang is here." Anderson said through the intercom. In the background, Mercedes could hear Tina speak.

"You could have just let me up, Anderson."

"There are certain rules and regulation I have to follow. For all I know you could be an Asian clone with a good wig."

"Well, that was racist-"

Before Tina and Anderson could start bickering- as always when the two were in each other's presence, Mercedes decided to intervene and stop World War III.

"Anderson, please send Tina up."

It was common for Tina to pop into her place at random times.

She moved away from the intercom and searched the cupboards for some snacks to eat. She heard the ding of her private elevator as she opened a bag of pretzels. Mercedes heard Tina speak before seeing her.

"Why don't you just give me a keycard for your elevator?" Tina said stepping off the elevator with her duffle bag in one hand and a bottle of wine in the other. "It would save me from having to communicate with that anti-Asian dictator."

"I'm planning on moving out soon." Mercedes said walking towards her with the pretzels. "What's with the bag and wine?"

Tina sighed putting the bag down next to the couch.

"Artie and I got into a fight." She explained. "So, since both our other halves are angry, mean ass faces, I thought we could cry and get drunk together." Tina said raising the bottle.

"You do realize it's a weekday. I have to be in the recording studio tomorrow-"

"And her angry, mean ass face boyfriend is here too," Sam said giving Tina a small wave from his leaning position against the doorframe. He tuck his wet shaggy hair behind his ears a tell tale that he just stepped out of the shower.

"Oh," Tina said looking between the two like a lost puppy. "You too are probably busy reconnecting." She sighed sadly taking her duffle bag. "I'll just go back to my apartment and cry...all alone because my fiancé is being an ass in Stockholm probably drinking martini's with Swedish actresses in his new foreign film-" Tina started sobbing. "-I'm gonna-gonna be alone forever..."

Mercedes wrapped her arm around her emotional friend taking the bottle of wine from her and leading her to the couch.

"Why don't you tell me what happened between you and Artie while I open this bottle of Merlot." Mercedes said gently. "Sam can take your bags to the guest room." She gave her boyfriend a pleading look.

Sam sighed and obliged like a good little butler. It is not that he did not sympathize with

Tina but he has not seen his girlfriend in three weeks and he really wanted to make up for lost time. There was also the fact that Tina was an emotional creature and everything made her cry. Sam guessed Tina and Artie had a small disagreement and she was blowing it out of proportion as she did with every emotional thing in her life. He left the living room with Tina's bag.

Fifteen minutes later the couple sat on the couch with a sobbing Tina between them watching a movie. Tina rested her head on Mercedes shoulder blowing her nose in a tissue.

"Tina, why are you crying now?" Sam asked the girl acting as a buffer between him and his girlfriend. She stopped crying a few minutes ago- even threw in a laugh at a scene in the move, before randomly bursting out in a fresh set of tears

Tina blew her nose in her tissue again before looking at her blonde friend . "It's the movie." She sobbed

"It's a comedy, Tina."

"The wheelchair reminds me of Artie." Cue a set of fresh tears. Over Tina's shoulders, Mercedes threw Sam a look before rubbing Tina's back.

"Let me pour you another glass of wine." Mercedes said grabbing the wine and glass on the coffee table. "Wine makes you happy."

Tina nodded as Mercedes filled her glass. She took the glass from Mercedes and swallowed all its contents like a thirsty woman. Once she was done, she wiped her mouth and looked between her two friends.

"Aren't you guys going to drink some?"

Mercedes shook her head as Sam said no. Tina shrugged and took the bottle slurping it down rapidly. She curled into Mercedes and wiped away tears with a sigh. She took Sam's hand and squeezed it.

"I love you guys so much." Tina said with a small smile. "You guys are so beautiful together," Tina said with tears looking between her two friends. "You two are, like, soul mates. I love you too together- your love just lights up the world." Tina cried wrapping her arms around them. Sam looked at Mercedes silently telling her that Tina is a crazy person. Mercedes tried hiding her grin.

"Tina, don't cry." Mercedes said.

"I'm crying because I'm so happy for you two." Tina sobbed. "You guys are perfect for each other. I am so glad u guys are back together. I want to be a bridesmaid at your wedding." Tina said smiling at Mercedes. "Can I?"

Mercedes looked at Sam for a second to see him curiously raising a brow in amusement before looking back into Tina's puppy like eyes.

"Yeah...uhm...you'll be my maid of honor." Mercedes awkwardly said avoiding Sam's gaze shyly. Tina squealed wrapping her arms around Mercedes. "I was going to ask you to be my maid of honor...but I won't be getting married!" Tina started sobbing again. Mercedes sighed rubbing her back.

Most of the night was spend comforting Tina until she fell asleep on the couch…

* * *

Sam tightened his arms around Mercedes, snuggling his face into her neck as the sunlight hit his face. Mercedes yawned as she turned around in his arms giving him a sleepy smile. He pressed his nose against hers opening his green eyes to see her wide coco eyes staring in his. They silently lied staring into each other's eyes with small smiles basking in the morning sunlight coming through her half open windows.

"You know, I can really get used to this." Sam huskily whispered- his lips touching hers as he spoke.

"I can get used to this too." Mercedes whispered running her fingertips over the soft skin stretched over his arm muscles creating an cloud of intimacy in the room.

Sam rolled her over to lean over her body. She wrapped her arms around his neck as he looked down at her with forest green eyes shining with adoration stealing her breath away. Sam kissed her deeply. She moaned into his mouth delving her fingers into a sea of blonde hair. Her heart drummed in her chest as adrenalin flooded her veins. Every inch of her heated up as his hand roamed her side under the light white sheet. She melted in the kiss ignoring her throbbing lungs seeking much needed air.

Sam pulled away when the need for air was too great to ignore. He looked into her hooded eyes for a few seconds panting. Sam gave her a coy smile biting his lip before stooping down and kissing her softly. He moved from her lips to her jaw planting soft kisses before scrapping his teeth against her neck. He gently licked the skin tasting her before biting down. Mercedes gasped for air shivering in delight.

"What's it with you-" She sighed biting her lip in ecstasy at the pain and then pleasure of his mouth on her skin. "-with you and hickeys?" She whispered through the lump in her throat.

She felt his lips move against the base of her throat.

"I'm just marking my territory."

Mercedes pulled on his hair for the comment.

"Ow, do you need to be so violent?" He asked pulling a face.

She rolled her eyes.

"You're such a baby."

Sam pulled a face before pulling her into passionate, heartbreaking beautiful kiss. Mercedes slipped her hands under his shirt running her fingers over the smooth skin of his back. Bone-chilling sparks of ecstasy ran through his veins as her soft gentle fingers ran over his spine...

A loud knock came from the door causing the couple to pull apart.

"I made breakfast." Tina's chirpy voice came from the other side of the door.

Sam groaned burying his face in the pillow next to Mercedes..

"Please tell me she's not staying over tonight." Sam whispered. "I love Tina, I do but she's gotta go."

"I hope not but I can't just put her out. She's sad-"

"Hey, you guys awake?" Tina asked knocking again.

"Yeah, we'll be down in a sec!" Mercedes called. "Thanks for the breakfast." She heard footsteps walking away. She rubbed Sam's back as she spoke.

"She sounds happy for a person who drank a whole bottle of wine last night." Mercedes yawned and stretched. "You gotta get off me now."

Sam rolled off her staring at her high ceiling as she sat up next to him. She pressed a sweet and short kiss to his lips before climbing off the bed. She straightened her nightshirt that ridded up in the midst of her and Sam's early morning escapade.

"What time is it?" Mercedes asked.

Sam sat up and grabbed his watch off the bedside table.

"It's seven-thirty."

"I have a recording session at nine, you wanna come along?"

"Sure, I don't have anything better to do." He said climbing off her queen sized bed.

The couple headed downstairs to find a dressed Tina cheerfully humming. Mercedes raised a brow as Sam walked past her in search for milk in the fridge.

"I'm going to work." Tina sang grabbing her handbag off Mercedes table.

"Why are you so cheery?" Mercedes asked walking towards the variety of pans on the stove to find eggs, sausages and bacon for breakfast. She closed the lids and opened her cabernets before taking out a glass and handing it to Sam who was drinking out of the milk carton.

Tina smiled taking a last sip of her coffee.

"Artie and I made up-"

Sam interrupted failing at hiding his excitement.

"Does it mean you're going home tonight?"

"I thought I could stay for the we-"

"I'm gonna miss you, Tina, but I totally understand-" Sam said cheerily.

"I-"

"I'll get your bags out of the guest room." Sam said practically running out of the kitchen leaving the two women behind.

Tina stared after him as he ran upstairs before looking back at Mercedes confused and a little hurt that her boyfriend was putting her out. Mercedes directed her eyes at the food awkwardly clearing her throat. A few seconds later Sam ran down with her bags and handed them to her before hugging her. He wrapped his arm around her and led her to Mercedes' elevator.

"Maybe we can get lunch tomorrow?" Sam said overly excited. "I'd like that. You and I never spend any time together we have to change that."

"I-"

"I'll call you to let you know." Sam said pressing the elevator button. He led her inside the metal room. He hugged her again

"I love you; I'll see you tomorrow...maybe." Sam said walking out of the elevator. "I'm so glad you and Artie made up." Sam said as the doors closed.

"Bye Tina, love you!" Mercedes called before the doors closed.

"That was mean, Sam." Mercedes said failing at hiding the amusement in her voice. Sam gave a guilty smile with a shrug as he walked towards her.

"Tina will forgive me- especially after you make her the maid of honor at our wedding." Sam said smiling brashly trapping her against the counter.

Mercedes rolled her eyes with a small smile before kissing him.

After a quick breakfast and power showers, the couple made their way down to the lobby. Mercedes exited the elevator giggling as she tried getting away from Sam's tickling.

"Hello, Ms Jones." A voice excitedly said by the door.

"Hi." She said confused to the man dressed in uniform.

"I'm Jason. Jason McNeal, the new dayshift doorman." The young man said smiling brightly at her displaying the dimples on his caramel cheeks.

"Well, it's nice to meet you Jason." Mercedes said. The man's eyes shone but then dimmed when he saw her blonde boyfriend behind her. Mercedes did not seem to notice the change but Sam did and it gave him creep vibes. Sam decided to shrug it off as him being a protective boyfriend. Male pride made him put his arms around her shoulders- telling the guy to buzz off silently. The guy gave Sam a lingering unreadable stare before casting his eyes downward and opening the door.

She politely smiled at the man while Sam raised a brow. Once outside on the pavement the couple got bombarded with camera flashes.

"Sam, is it true you got offered $30,000 for a sextape with Mercedes?" The man asked running around them and taking photos of them as if they were endangered animals. Sam opened his mouth ready to give the paparazzo a piece of his mind when Mercedes stopped him by softly saying:

"Don't, Sam. Don't give him something to write about."

Her bodyguard opened the Landover door for her and Sam. Mercedes entered before him.

"Wow, that guy is an ass." Sam said.

"Yeah," Mercedes sighed. "The stories just get crazier by the day." She told her driver where to drive.

"I don't know how you handle it without exploding."

"Practice makes perfect." Mercedes said. "I can't wait to get out of this madness."

She buried herself in Sam's arms watching the skyscrapers fly by through the tinted windows.

* * *

"Okay, that's a wrap." Enrique said as the music died down in the background.

Mercedes and 'Dredd' took off their headphones smiling at one another before sharing a high-five. Sam gave her a thumb up as the two artist headed out of the recording booth.

"You guys were amazing," Enrique said clapping hands. "What do you think, Sam?"

"Awesome." He said handing Mercedes a bottle of water and patting his lap for her to sit on.

"Okay, so let me do my magic while you all look pretty." The sound engineer told the two artist.

Mercedes sat on Sam's lap opening the bottle of water. 'Dredd' grabbed a nearby chair and rolled it his way.

"So, what's the story with you two?" Dredd asked pulling his dreadlocks out of his eyes.

"What's the story with us? What's the story with you and that supermodel you've been dating?" Mercedes asked. "I thought you were staying away from women and pledging a life of abstinence after the baby daddy scandal."

"I was drunk when I said that." He said causing her to laugh. "And curiosity killed the cat, my dear friend."

"Ditto." Mercedes said getting off Sam's lap.

"I need to go to the restroom." She said handing Sam the water bottle before leaving the room.

She walked down the halls of the building with framed music records as she passed the closed doors of other rooms. Once she was done in the restroom, she followed the path back to the studio. Once she passed a corner, she felt a hand wrap around her wrist. She turned to find a familiar light caramel face smiling brightly at her. His grey predatory mysterious eyes washed over every inch of her short body making her feel uncomfortable.

"What are you doing?" Mercedes asked venomously trying to pull free from him. "Did you follow me?"

"What-no." Conner said ignoring her yanking. "I'm recording in a studio and I just happened to see you." He gave her a small smirk and winked at her.

"I didn't ask for your biography, I just asked you a yes or no question." Mercedes hissed.

The man laughed wiping a curl of hair away from his face.

"I see you're feistier than before- I like it."

Mercedes glared at him pulling away forcefully and ignoring the throbbing of her wrist.

"Well, it's been over two years."

"Yeah, but it's not like we didn't see each other at events."

Mercedes sighed in irritation rubbing her bruising wrist.

"Why can't you just leave me alone, Conner?" She asked annoyed.

Conner walked towards her making her reverse until she hit a wall. Conner's imposing figure leaned over hers. His muscular tattooed arms trapped her from both side. She looked through the empty halls praying for someone to come. She decided not to show her panic and stared back at him with boldness. He brought his face inches from hers. She clenched her jaw.

"I always get what I want Mercedes."

She tried pushing him away but failed

"Come on Mercedes, we didn't have a reason to break up."

"We broke up because you were cruel and abusive."

He looked at her with sincerity shining in his eyes.

"I can change, Mercedes." He softly said touching her cheek. She moved her face away feeling disgusted at his touch. "You can't tell me we didn't have good memories Mercedes. You can't tell me, you don't remember our time together, Mercy-baby" He gently ran his fingers down her cheeks. "We can be great together, Mercedes. Sam- Magic Mike Evans, has nothing to offer you-"

Mercedes knew what he was doing and she was not going to fall for it. She slapped him…hard. He pulled away grabbing his cheek in shock as she glared at him, ignoring her throbbing hand.

"Stop acting, Conner." She hissed. "We both know you are a manipulative, sick person who will never stop using other people for fame and power." Mercedes glared at him with as much hate she could muster. "I'm not some psychologically week little girl who is going to fall for your lies and sadistic charm. You will never stop being a sadistic son of a b-"

Conner's eyes immediately grew dark and malevolent. Before she could continue her sentence, he grabbed her chin forcibly. She tried breaking free from his jaw-breaking grip to no avail. He forced her to look at him. She tried her best to hide her fear behind the blank look she was giving him.

"Nobody will ever want you except me." He whispered in her ear. "Sam's only with you for your money. Do you really think he, or any other man would want you-"

Before he could continue, a punch to his face stopped him making him stumble. Conner let Mercedes go, trying to regain his balance but failing making him fall to the floor. Mercedes looked at her seething boyfriend in surprise.

Sam was just roaming the halls in search for the vending machine when he saw the scene of the tall man trapping Mercedes and all he saw was red. Sam was about to jump on the guy and beat him to a pulp when he felt gently hands wrapping around his arm pulling him back.

"Don't." She said calmly begging him with her eyes whilst he stood there enraged. It took everything in him to deny the urge to cripple the man. He took a calming breath and shrugged Mercedes off as he stared at the man holding his jaw in pain on the floor.

"You will be hearing from my lawyer, stripper." Conner hissed.

Sam kneels on the ground before him grabbing the font of his shirt and glares him in the eye with as much hate he could muster. He tightened his grip on his shirt as every muscle in his body wanted to beat him to a pulp.

"You ever so much as look at her I will end you." He hissed. "You can go run to court and tell how I attacked you but they will find out about your emotional abuse. Millions of women around the world will paint me as the sweet boyfriend who protected her honour...and you...well you will forever be known as the abusive guy. Let's not forget the 30 million Mercedes Jones followers on Twitter or Instagram." Sam pushed the man back making him hit his head on the floor. "Go, press assault charges, I dare you but remember there's a camera right over there-" Sam pointed to the camera in the hall. "-that caught you forcing yourself on a girl that clearly did not want you touching her."

Sam took Mercedes hands and led her down the hall away from the man before he gave in to his rage.

* * *

The vibrations of the television explosion echoed through the dark room. The image on the screen illuminated the two fingers on the couch. Sam rested his head on Mercedes lap with a box of tissues pressed against his chest.

He had the flu. One of his students was still recovering from the illness but came to school to write a test two days ago. This morning he woke up with a sore throat and pounding headache. He drank an aspirin and hoped it would get better during the day- because he already lost a whole week of school last week, but the plan did not go as planned. He just got sicker and weaker by the hour. Mr. Schue sent him home half through the Friday and called Mercedes to get him because he did not think Sam should be driving since he nearly fainted on his way to the nurse office.

Mercedes, being the good girlfriend she was, stayed with him for the day and was staying over the night to nurse him to health. Sam being the big baby he was was thoroughly enjoying all her attention and bossing her around. She fluffed his pillow, massaged his aching body and even walked out of the kitchen just so she could hand him the TV remote that was less than five inches from him- his excuse: 'my _fragile aching body just can't stretch that far'_. Every time Mercedes wanted to snap at him throughout the day he would look at her with those sad pathetic eyes and red nose making her swallow her irritation.

Mercedes could only imagine how unbearable he would be as an elderly. She could imagine him sitting on the porch of their home in his old age bossing her around as he complained about all the pains and issues that came with age. In all honesty, it made her smile. That is why she got this sudden idea. She was ready to commit herself to Sam Evans. It was the 21st century and there was nothing wrong with a woman proposing to a man.

Mercedes looked at her boyfriend's milky skin illuminated with the orange light coming from the TV screen.

"Mercedes?" Her boyfriend hoarsely whispered.

"Yeah, baby?" She asked running a hand through his hair as he turned to look at her.

"Am I dying?"

"No, you are not." Mercedes said giving an amused smile.

There was a brief silence before Sam asked again.

"Mercedes?"

"Yeah, Sam?"

"Are you sure I'm not dying cause-"

"No you are not dying-"

"I think I should go to the doctor and freeze my sperm cells. Maybe someday you could bear my children to carry on my legacy even when I'm gone."

Mercedes giggled rolling her eyes. _And he called her dramatic._

Well since he was on the topic of children she guessed it was no or never. She swallowed the lump in her throat.

"Sam, I need to ask you something."

The tone of her voice made him sit up straight- with a dramatic groan of pain of course. Mercedes got off the couch and turned on the light causing Sam to pull a face. She took a deep breath before walking towards her boyfriend and sitting down next to him. He pressed his knees to his chest and studied the girl nervously biting her lip.

"What's up?"

She was already too far to turn back so she decided to man up and took his hands in hers looking into his confused eyes.

"I love you."

Sam gave a small-confused chuckle.

"I love you too." Sam said. "But I don't get why you had to turn the light on to tell me that."

Mercedes gave a nervous laugh that sounded as if she was in physical pain. Why was she so nervous? She preformed in front of sold out arenas worldwide relaxed. This was just Sam...her Sam so she had no reason for anxiety.

"I-I" She stuttered before taking a deep breath. "I want to spend the rest of my life with you, Sam. I know we have only been together for two and a half months now but I know that I will not ever want anybody as much as I want you. I won't love anyone as much as I love you." She kissed his hand. "I don't have a ring or anything because I kinda realized that I'm ready for this like a half-hour." She took a deep breath. "Samuel Evans will you marry me?"

Sam stared at her flabbergasted for a few seconds before breathlessly asking:

"Wait-What?"

"Will you marry me?"

"I thought you asked that but I shrugged it off as me being delusional because of all the medication." Sam explained shaking his head.

Mercedes gave a nervous chuckle.

"So will you …marry me?"

"No."

Mercedes' heart stopped.

"No?" she whispered.

"No."

* * *

 **Boom! My first cliffhanger! Before you all decided to stone me to death just remember this is a Samcedes fan fiction so they will end up together…until next time.**

 **So, proposal aside, what did you guys think?**


	11. Chapter 10

**Thanks for all the reviews, you guys are amazing. I hope you all enjoyed. I edited 11 at night so there will probably be a few mistakes…just ignore them.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Glee or the comic/ superhero characters:**

* * *

Sam gazed at the Jones' home from his car popping a painkiller in his mouth and taking a gulp of water. He screwed the lid on the water bottle glancing at his pale face and red nose in the side mirror. He looked terrible. He did not feel that good either but at least he felt better than he did yesterday. The gloomy weather was not helping with his pale zombie-like appearance. Sam climbed out of his car into the uncharacteristically cool spring wind. He glanced at the grey painted skies seeing heavy dark clouds obeying the wind that carrying them over the Saturday morning sky.

Sam jogged up the three white painted wood steps and knocked on the door. He pulled his hoodie over his head and tightened his sweatshirt around his body trying to stop from shivering and losing his body heat. Sam knocked again waiting for an answer- ready with messy apology burning on his lips.

Last night was a mess. It was a catastrophe. Before he could explain to Mercedes why he said no, she bid him an awkward goodbye and almost pranced out of his apartment like a gazelle that just saw a lion. Sam wanted to follow behind her and explain but once he stood up, he felt blood rush to his head so he decided rather to call her. As expected she did not answer her phone.

The white door opened to reveal Mercedes' father curiously raising a brow at the man who looked like he was on deaths' door.

"Morning, Sir." He croaked out hoarsely, ignoring his sore raw throat. "Is Mercedes here?"

The man looked at the stairs his daughter just ran up before looking back at the man standing in front of him looking pale and miserable.

"Before running up the stairs she told me to tell you that she not here."

Sam could hear heavy footsteps near the top of the stairwell before the sound of a door thrown shut met his ears.

Sam sighed.

"I need to talk to her, Mr. J. I messed up."

The man walked out of the house and closed the door behind him making sure nobody overhears them talking.

"Well, clearly she does not want to talk to you. What did you do, Son? She's been crying and won't tell us what is wrong." Her father said before dropping his voice. "I thought you were gonna ask her to marry you."

* * *

 _Three weeks ago:_

 _He knocked on the front door of the Jones' residence nervously rubbing his hands together as he waited for someone to answer the door. He was going to do this. He was going to ask her father for his blessing._

 _Mercedes was in Los Angeles for the past week and he was going to ask her to marry him when she came home. She was the love of his life. Yes, they were only dating for two months now and yes Sam was known for being somewhat impulsive but he knew, yes he just knew that he and Mercedes Jones were meant to be together. He knew that God made them for each other. They already loved each other, they shared the same beliefs, they knew how they wanted to raise their children so why wait?_

 _His grandparents dated for three months before they got married and in two weeks they would be celebrating their forty-eighth wedding anniversary. Yeah, times might have changed but if you truly loved somebody, that love withstands the hands of time._

 _He called his father for a 'man talk' to tell him about his plan to propose. His father, even though he liked Mercedes, was still a little uncertain if it was the right thing to do since they have only been together for two months. Sam understood where he was coming from, he did but that did not stop him from getting his father on his side. Of course, his mother, who had super hearing, heard their conversation. He could hear her squeal in the background planning a summer wedding already before he even bought the ring. His father than told him to first ask her father for permission since it was the gentlemanly thing to do...that's why he was standing on the Jones' front porch playing with his fingers trying to calm his nerves by taking deep breaths of air and exhaling._

 _The door opened to reveal the heavyset head of the Jones household._

 _"Sam, what are you doing here?" The man asked puzzled._

 _"I asked to speak to you. I called yesterday and you said today would be fine." Sam explained._

 _"Oh yeah." The man said shaking his head trying to clear it. "I forgot. Come in." The man said making room for the blonde young man to walk inside the house.._

 _Sam followed him closing the door behind him. He saw Mrs. Jones walk down the stairs glaring at her husband who was leading Sam to his study to talk in private. The man stopped making Sam stop behind him._

 _"Hello, Sam." The woman said stiff not taking her eyes of her husband whom she was assaulting through the slits of her narrowed eyelids._

 _"Hello, Ma'am."_

 _The woman gave her husband an once-over before walking past him towards the kitchen._

 _"Why did I get married?" David groaned under his breath._

 _"I heard you," his wife hissed making the man pull a face. "You don't have to be here, David. I do not need your insensitive ass in my home. There's is the door- use it."_

 _The man threw his hands in the air._

 _"How many times do I have to say that I'm sorry?" The man asked exasperated._

 _"Until your lips turn blue and they fall off." She said with a huff and walked away._

 _David Jones shook his head muttering 'Women' under his breath and leading Sam into his home office. Sam studied the small room decorated with shades of brown and cream. A large bookcase stood tall and proud with books inhabiting its shelves. On the walls were paintings, framed degrees and pictures of family. Sam sat down on one of the two mahogany chesterfields stationed in front of the unused fireplace._

 _"So what can I do for you, Sam?" David asked the nervous young man tapping his foot on the dark wood floor._

 _Sam straightened his spine and positioned himself in a comfortable position on the expensive settee_

" _I-I-uhm" Sam searched for the right words. He had a whole speech planned- he even wanted to write it down before a gory videogame distracted him. "I-I love your-your daughter, Sir." Sam stuttered out before swallowing the lump in his throat. "I love your daughter and I-I-I want to marry her if she agrees… with your blessing. Mr. Jones, Can I have your blessing?"_

 _Mercedes father studied him with a pokerfaced expression._

 _"You want to marry my daughter?" He asked after a minute that felt like an hour to Sam._

 _All Sam could do was nod._

 _"You've only been dating for two months now." The man said. "Marriage is supposed to be for life, Samuel. Unlike dating you can't just throw in the towel when things get hard and trust me they will get hard. You will get on each other's nerves; you will fight about nonsense. Women are sensitive hormonal creatures and trust me the older and closer they get to menopause it just gets worse." The man said thinking back to his own marriage. "But even though it will get hard and even though you sometimes want to a remote control that can sometimes just pause them in the middle of an argument, it's still worth it. Having somebody by your side through thick or thin makes it worth it. Having somebody who has your back when life gets hard makes it all worth it." The man said. "So, are you ready to spend every waking moment of your life committed to only one person?"_

 _"Yes I am, Sir." Sam said confidently without missing a beat. "I've been thinking about that and so much more. I have known and I have loved her for years. I will never want or love anybody as much as I love your daughter. I will spend every waking moment of my life trying to make her happy, Sir. I want to spend my life with her. I am not going to bail when things get hard. I am in it for life, Sir. You're daughter is my best friend, my biggest supporter, my confidant...Sir, she is the love of my life."_

 _David intently listened to Sam folding his arms over his chest. He nodded once Sam was done._

 _"I am going to say to you what my father in-law said to me the day I married Sheryl: ' if YOU EVER HURT my baby I will hurt you in inexplicable ways. I will be the source of all your nightmares, misery and pain. You will be on a Viagra drip for the rest of your life'."_

 _Sam did not know if he had a death wish or if he was just naturally stupid. But the words leaving his mouth next he had no control over._

 _"Is that why Mercedes doesn't have any siblings?"_

' _Why did the comedian in him have to make an appearance now?'_

 _Rather than Mr. Jones socking him in the eye, the man started laughing and shook his head. He stood up and offered Sam his hand to shake. Sam stood up and shook it._

 _"I trust you with the most important person in my life, Samuel." The man said seriously squeezing his hand. "Don't let me down."_

 _Sam gave a smile through the pain._

 _"I won't, Mr. J, I promise."_

 _"You better not...Son."_

* * *

"I was- I mean I am but she took me by surprise last night and proposed to me." Sam explained with a groan feeling an approaching headache.

"She asked you to marry her; What did you do?"

"I said no-"

"You said what?" He asked taken aback. "You do realize women are fragile beings. Did you tell her why you said no? For all she knows you said no because you don't want to marry her."

"I didn't mean to and when I was about to explain the words did not come out right and she left." He said with a sigh. "Now she does not want to talk to me. She doesn't answer my calls."

The older man sighed thinking of ways to help the young man.

"I have a plan." He said. "I have an app on my phone that controls my car if needed. If it ever it gets stolen I can stop the car from wherever I am. I'll get Mercedes out of the house and make up a story like I need something from the store. All you need to do is follow her from a safe distance until I make the car stop."

Sam raised a brow.

"That kinda sounds stalkerish-"

"Do you wanna spend the rest of your life old and alone?" The man asked pointedly.

"No-"

"Then do it."

* * *

"No, no, no, no." Mercedes cried hitting the dashboard. "You lousy piece of machinery."

She was driving down the street and all of the sudden the car slowed down making her pull to the side of the road before the car died. She looked at the uncharacteristically grey skies and sighed as it started raining...hard. She took out her phone to call her father but she realized that she left it at home.

 _'This was not happening.'_

She blamed he dad for this. What person in their right mind sends you to go buy him ointment when a storm is approaching? When she told her father, no he played the _'I gave you life'_ _and 'raised you. How will you feel if your children ever treat you like this'-_ card. Even though she was a grown woman, she decided to just do it before he could continue nagging and pouting like the overgrown baby he was.

She could feel tears of frustration burning beneath her eyelids. She rested her forehead against the steering well making through the neighborhood until she raised her head to see a car approaching in her rearview mirror. It was Sam.

This could not be happening now. She was already embarrassed enough after last night. Maybe she should leave the spur of the moment things to Sam since they were disastrous when she tried. She knew she could not avoid Sam forever but she was hoping she could do it until most of the embarrassment faded away. Was it the adult thing to do? No, it was not but she could careless.

He stopped behind her. Mercedes sighed begging that somehow in ten seconds the car would suddenly decide to work. She sent a small prayer up pressed the start button with hope...nothing happened, not even a purr of the engine.

 _'Why?'_

She saw Sam climb out of his car via her mirrors making his way towards her through the heavy rain . She took a deep breath looking out in front of her hoping he would get the memo...

He did not.

Sam obnoxiously knocked on her window until she reluctantly opened the door. Sam's figure leaning over her door protected her from most of the heavy raindrops. He looked down at her, soaked to the bone. This could not be good for his already fragile health.

"You need some help?"

"Uhm, nope, thanks for asking though." She said cheerily about ready to close the door again.

"It looks like it."

She gave him a small fake tight smile. "You know the saying 'looks can be deceiving'. I just pulled to the side of the road to admire the view." She said gesturing to the suburban houses.

Sam raised a quizzical brow at her.

"Are you the FBI? I said I am fine. No need to worry you're pretty little mind."

Sam sighed amazed that she was really playing the ignorance card. She was probably embarrassed and he was not making things any easier for her so she's pretending like it did not happen. He decided to humor her for a while until they got into his car.

"Do you need a lift?"

She shook her head.

"Nope, I'm perfectly fine right here." She sang.

Sam sighed knowing he was not going to get anywhere soon. He decided to speed things up and get out of the rain- because he could feel himself getting sicker by the minute; and gently took Mercedes' arm and pulled her out of the car.

"Let's go." He said taking her hand in his and ignoring her trying to pull free from his clutch.

"Sam, I said-"

He interrupted sick of playing games.

"Look, Mercedes, I'm tired, I'm cold and I'm sick but that does not mean that I will not use brute force to get that pretty little ass of yours in that car-" He nodded towards his car behind hers half blinded by the heavy rain assaulting his vision. "I'm begging you to oblige me or so help me, I will use the little strength I have left in my body to pick you up. If I faint or die, it will be on your conscience for pushing me pass my limits. Now do you really want that?"

Yes even sick and on death's door (in his opinion), he could still give dramatic speeches.

Mercedes obliged and locked the car behind her before letting him lead her to his BMW. She opened the door and sat in the car dripping wet and shivering from the bone-chilling cold air. Sam turned on the heater and drove off. Mercedes looked everywhere but at Sam, whose gaze she could feel on her face.

"Mercedes-"

"Please don't, Sam." She knew where this was going and she was not ready to talk about last night yet...maybe tomorrow but not today. She first needed to get over the embarrassment and hurt. Mercedes spent most of her night wondering why Sam said no. He loved her so that could not be the reason he said no. Or maybe they were just moving to fast.

Mercedes stared at the moving windshield wipers as she spoke. "Can we talk about it later, please?"

"No, we can-"

"You just passed my house." Mercedes said noticing him accelerate speed rather than slowing down as her childhood home passed them by.

"I know." Was all he said as he continued driving.

Mercedes sighed deciding to let him have his way.

"Where are we going?" Mercedes asked shrugging out of her wet leather jacket weighing her down and nearly drowning her in its clutches.

"You'll find out soon."

"You know this qualifies as kidnapping-"

"You're not a child." Sam said smartly.

"Okay, abducting then-"

"I'm not a green big-eyed creature with a spaceship." Sam said clearing his throat. He could feel his body getting worse. After this, he was going to go home, take a long bath and go into hibernation for the weekend.

"According to some reports people claim they are purple." Mercedes said smartly rubbing her hands over the goose bumps erupting over her arms as Sam exploded in a fit of coughs next to her. He sounded worse than he did last night, he looked terrible and she guessed the weather was not help at all.

Silence filled the car until Mercedes decided broke it. She could not pretend nothing happened last night.

"Look, about last night, I'm sorry I put you on the spot like that and I made a quick exit when you said no." Mercedes said. "I mean I didn't even give you time to explain why you said no, one would be nice." Mercedes said taking a deep breath as Sam stopped the car. "I mean guess we've only been together for a little over two months so I get why-"

"You're rambling, Mercedes." Sam said amused. "I have something to show you."

Mercedes looked around to see that they parked outside an old three-story house. The white paint peeled off the wood of the home but other than needing a paint job the house looked cute. The lawn was a little overgrown and trees needed a little trimming though.

"Sam..."

Sam opened his door and climbed out in the rain before walking towards her side and opening her door. He held out his hand for her to take. She placed her cold hand in his and let him lead her towards the home through the rain.

"Sam, what are we doing here?"

Rather than answering her question, Sam pulled out a small black velvet box from his wet and heavy jean pocket, kneeling down on one knee. Mercedes eyes grew twice their size as her body stood frozen in shock (and just maybe the cool wind was also contributing to the solid state her body is in).

"The reason I said no is because I wanted to ask you first," Sam explained opening the box to reveal a diamond ring resting firmly by two small cushions inside the box. "I had everything planned to a T. But when you asked me I just-I just." Sam sighed searching for the right words "You know my mouth and my mind sometimes...sometimes the words just get lost in translation, you know" Sam said. "I had this perfect proposal planned: we were going to have a picnic under the stars and later the night I would have brought you here-" He said gesturing to the large tethered three-story home with his free hand.

"After you told me you wanted to settle down, I got a little presumptuous and one day I Googled homes for sale in Lima. I came across this one. It's big, it has an amazing yard. I didn't make an offer yet because I wanted to run it past you first," He said. "It has had many inhabitants in its years. So many families bought it, rebuild it but they never stayed long but it just hasn't found the right people...the right family yet. Just like this house, we both had people in our lives for season that never stayed long because they were not right for us. But we're right for one another and I think we can raise a beautiful happy family in this house and make it a home." Sam rambled. Mercedes could feel the tears burning beneath her eyelids. "I chose to propose here because this is where I want to start a new chapter in my life with you. This is where I want to raise our children; this is where I want to spend my life with you." Mercedes swallowed the lump in her throat ignoring the tears running down her cheeks. "Mercedes, I know this won't be easy at times. I know we'll fight and I know we will work on each others nerves but I also know that I do not want to spend my life with anyone else but you." He took a deep breath staring into her wet glassy eyes. "You're the Lois Lane to my Superman. You are the Iris West to my Flash. You are the Gwen Stacy to my Spiderman. Mercedes Jones, will you marry me?"

She was not just crying anymore...she was bawling her eyes out. She nodded trying to wipe away tears.

"Yeah." She whispered as Sam took her hand. He slipped the ring on her finger and stood up. Mercedes threw her arms around his neck as he tightened his arms around her waist and lifted her feet off the porch. She was about to kiss him when he pulled away.

"I don't want to get you sick and be the reason you die, Mercy." He explained. "I spent a year of my teacher's salary on that ring, and suffered weird looks from the jeweler who thought I was buying a ring for a kid because you have such small baby hands. He gave me 'I'm judging you, you pedophile' looks. I did not suffer those weird looks for nothing, Mercedes. You can't die on me now."

Mercedes punched him between the shoulder blades.

"Ow, damn them baby hands got one hell of a punch."

She rolled her eyes and kissed him deeply loosing herself in the kiss. He tasted like cough syrup.

"I love you." She whispered against his smiling lips as he put her down.

"I love you too. Now take me home before I die of hypothermia please, I think I'm going to pass out any second now." He joked before kissing her again…

* * *

 **BAM! Review?**


	12. Chapter 11

**A/N:**

 **Hallelujah I can finally update I had this on my PC for what felt like years!**

 **Anyhow, thanks for all the amazing reviews for the previous chapter, I am really glad you all liked the proposal. Fancy dinners and restaurant proposals have been overdone so I chose to write something a little more creative.**

 **In this chapter, we delve a little more into Mercedes family history since the actual show gave us nothing more than the knowledge that her father is a dentist.**

 **Disclaimer: Glee and it's characters belong to its creators and the song ' _Lego House'_ belongs to Ed Sheeran. I hope you enjoyed.**

* * *

"I told you not to kiss me." Sam said to the girl currently blowing her nose into a tissue before throwing it in the small bin next to her bed..

"Shut up, Sam." Mercedes groaned as her boyfr- nope, as her fiancé sat down next to her. "I think I'm dying."

She thought Sam was exaggerating last week when he was moaning and withering with the flu. She really thought he was just being his dramatic self when he talked about 'standing on deaths door' but she totally got it now. She felt exactly the same way.

"If I were you I wouldn't be rubbing it in my fiancé's face that I gave her a disease, you know."

Sam gave her an amused grin and kissed her cheek.

"I love that word...but I'm really looking forward to call you 'wife' soon."

"Yeah, well, I wouldn't get so excited if I were you. I may be dead by the end of the week, "Mercedes mumbled closing her eyes in an attempt to ease her headache.

Sam chuckled.

"Has anybody ever told you how dramatic you are?"

"You were way worse last week."

Sam laughed. She was right.

"Can you imagine how dramatic our children will be?"

With her dramatic and his exaggerating their children would definitely have a few dramatic genes.

Mercedes gave a small laugh before erupting in a fit of raw dry coughs. She groaned once the cough passed and grabbed the wet cloth on her bedside table placing it on her forehead.

"I'm sorry I made you sick...but it is kinda your fault." Sam said lying down next to her. She closed her eyes and snuggled into him.

"Shut up, Samuel."

Sam kissed her temple. He wrapped his arms around her pressing her warm body against his before running his hand over her arm.

"I hope I'll be healthy enough by the end of the week to go with you to Columbus for Regionals." Mercedes whispered ignoring the rasping burn in her throat. "Oh yeah, I called my publicist to announce the engagement to the world, like I said, before the paparazzi gets wind of it and blows everything out of proportion. I also posted pictures on instagram and twitter By the way, we are trending on Twitter."

"I noticed. Girls at school were congratulating me on my amazing taste in jewelry." Sam said slyly before turning serious. "I know there are some serious haters out there too."

Mercedes sighed. She read a few of the comments online: 50% of what she read so far was positive and 10% of people could careless and felt neutral about the whole thing but the negative comments were hard to ignore. If people were not commenting on their different races and how 'hot' Sam is and how 'not' she was, they were talking about how she and he would not work out because of the length of their relationship.

"Yeah, but to hell with them, who cares?" Mercedes said before coughing again and resting her head against his chest wheezing. "I really think I'm dying...maybe I should go to the doctor and freeze my eggs so you can carry on my legacy even when-"

"You're never going to let that go, are you?"

"Nope," Mercedes said chuckling.

"You do realize I was self-medicated when I said that. You can't hold that against me."

Mercedes smiled against his chest as he ran his fingers over her back. "Sing for me," she whispered closing her eyes.

Sam kissed her forehead and began singing his chest lowly vibrating against her cheek as he rocking her warm body:

 _I'm gonna pick up the pieces and build a Lego house_

 _If things go wrong we can knock it down_

 _My three words have two meaning but there's one thing on my mind_

 _It's all for you_

 _And it's dark in a cold December, but I've got you to keep me warm._

 _If you're broken I will mend ya and keep you_

 _sheltered from the storm that's raging on now._

 _I'm out of touch, I'm out of love_

 _I'll pick you up when you're getting down_

 _And out of these things I've done, I think I love you better now._

 _I'm out of sight, I'm out of mind_

 _I'll do it for you in time_

 _And out of all these things I've done, I think I love you better now..._

Mercedes tightened the hold on Sam's waist letting his voice send her off to a peaceful afternoon slumber...

* * *

"Come on Artie, what are you doing!" Sam shouted as he pressed the video game controls losing himself in the online world of the game.

Mercedes sat on the carpet next to his feet rolling her eyes as she continued snipping away at wedding magazines. She came over to Sam's so that they could brainstorm ideas for their summer wedding to give the wedding planner a vision of their ideas tomorrow. Rather than helping her, Sam decided to play video games and share his attention between the two.

"Artie, why are you such a hopeless cause-Artie, Artie?" Sam looked at his fiancé sitting on the carpet next to his feet. "Did he just hang up on me?" Sam asked hurt taking out his earpiece after pausing the game. He sat down on the carpet next to his fiancé.

"Thank you for finally paying attention to me." Mercedes said sarcastically. Sam gave a guilty smile and kissed her cheek.

"So, what do you have so far?"

"You do realize I'm not marrying myself, right? You could help."

Sam pulled a face.

"Wow, somebody's in a mood."

Mercedes gave him a look that told him she was not amused.

"What's up with you?"

Mercedes sighed.

"My grandmother is coming to visit for the week."

"..."

"..."

Sam raised a brow.

"Why is that so terrible? I thought you loved your grandparents?"

"It's the judgmental racist grandmother; my dad's mom."

"Oh." Sam said understanding. Mercedes told him about her but she did not go into detail. "So, what's her deal?"

Mercedes stopped snipping at the picture of the flower arrangement and put her scissors down before telling the story she heard from her great aunt Edith.

"Well, my grandmother's dislike of white people began from childhood." Mercedes explained crossing her legs. "My grandmother was born to a steel worker and housekeeper in 1946- and we both know those weren't really good times for black people. My great grandfather got into a fight with a white guy when a few days after my grandma's birth and he was stabbed to death but nobody ever got arrested for the murder due to _'lack of evidence_ _and_ _witnesses'._ My great-grandmother than had an affair with her married boss for ten-freaken years. He would sneak into her house in the black part of town late at night so my grandmother and their siblings got used to him in their home- he kind of became like a second father to them all. He was the only father my grandmother ever knew and since she was the youngest he spoiled her a lot."

"Ten years, that's ...wow." Sam said

Mercedes took a sip of her glass of Pepsi on the table.

"But Mr. Boss's life with one foot in vanilla and the other in chocolate caught up to him; my great-grandmother got pregnant. She told him but he did not want anything to do with her or the baby in her belly. Mrs. Boss knew about the affair for years- she had a few of her own and their marriage was only sham for their wealthy families. Anyhow, Mrs. Boss fired her before anyone could find out that her husband had been screwing the help to save their names. My great-grandma and her four kids were forced on the streets struggling for food. My great-granny had a miscarriage. Afterwards she took the kids moved to a new city and by the grace of God she got a job as a maid for a rich couple and they slowly rebuilt their lives. "She worked for years until my grandmother's brothers and one sister were old enough to work too and look after her in retirement."

Mercedes looked into the distance loosing herself in the retelling of the story:

"My grandmother met my grandfather in the late 60's and after a whirlwind courtship they got married. They were married for twenty-five years before my granddad left her for a white woman. That's why my grandmother dislikes white people so much; she believes they took her father away, the white man she loved as a father abandoned her and her family and a white woman took her husband away." Mercedes sighed looking at him.

"That...that sucks." Sam said.

Mercedes took a deep breath.

"Yeah it does but it's not reason to hate a whole race of people." Mercedes said. "It's sad that she is holding on to so much pain and that she's directing her anger at the wrong people and the wrong way." Mercedes said studying her soon to be husband. "My great-aunt Edith says my great-gran never fully recovered after she lost the baby: he/she was the only thing she still had left of her lover and when she lost the child she started struggling with depression until her death in the early seventies. She died of a heart attack. My great-aunt Edith says she died of a broken heart." Mercedes said sadly. "Two months after her funeral Aunt Edith found a note on her grave. She read it. It was from the guy she had the 10-year affair with. In the note he told her how sorry he was that he was too much of a coward to face the ridicule of the world and marry her like they talked of 'one day when the world changed'. He said he was sorry that he was too much of a coward to show the world how much he loved her and every single one of herstarcoS children who he thought of as his own." Mercedes looked into Sam's beautiful eyes. "They were like star-crossed lovers. It makes you realize how lucky we are if we ever find true love in our lifetime."

Sam wrapped his arms around her and kissed her temple thinking about how right she was. The two of them were one of the lucky ones. Not everybody found their soul mate in their lifetimes and not everybody had the opportunity to spend the rest of their lives with that soul mate. They were lucky that they lived in a society where they were accepted (maybe not by all but by most). They could love each other without laws and segregation keeping them apart and stopping them from getting married.

Sam gently lifted her chin and kissed her deeply, tongues danced together in perfect harmony savoring one another. Sam rested his forehead against hers silently thanking God for the miracle He gave him.

"I love you so much." He whispered.

She smiled at him losing herself in those grassland eyes of his seeing the adoration and love in them so strong it took her breath away.

"I love you too." She said pressing her palm against his cheek.

Sam took a deep breath pressing his nose against his for a few seconds before returning his attention to the magazines on his coffee table.

"So, what are our wedding colors?" Sam asked. After her story Sam realized even though wedding planning was not his favorite activity, he at least had a chance to marry his one true love unlike the guy in her story. So, if that meant he had to discuss wedding colors and pick out the perfect flowers he would do so just so he could marry this amazing girl next to him...

* * *

"Is it too late for me to follow Sam to Columbus?"

Her mother gave her a look. Mercedes pulled a face as her mother threw her arms around her and gave her a hug.

"I know your grandmother can be a little…" Her mother searched for he right words to describe her mother in-law without insulting the woman.

"Rude, bitter insuperable. Grand-mère est une douleur dans le cul-"

"Mercedes, you can't call your grandmother a pain in the ass." Her mother warned smacking her with a dry wash cloth. "Tiens-toi bien."

Mercedes pouted.

"I'll try to behave but don't act like you weren't thinking it too." Mercedes mumbled sitting on the kitchen island grabbing an apple from the fruit bowl next to her.

Her mother rolled her eyes trying to hide an amused smile as he daughter took a bite of the apple

"Look, I know you're grandmother isn't an easy person to get along with but if it wasn't for her existence you would not have a father...heck you would not have been born. Be nice."

"I'm always nice...she's the mean one." Mercedes said with a sigh. "Can you imagine what she's going to do when I tell her about the wedding?"

"It won't be that bad-"

"Mom, when I told her about Sam she said: _'it's just a_ _ph_ _a_ _s_ _e you will grow out of. You are going to marry a strong, intelligent black man one day. I know it '_. She called my relationship a phase." Mercedes interrupted her mother before running a hand over her face. "Look, I get what happened to her sucks, I do. But she can't hate every white person in existence. Plus her great-grandchildren will be half- white too, so she's gotta learn to forgive, Mom."

"Well, you have had one hell of a long phase. How long have you and Sam been having this weird 'almost-relationship-but-not-really', five years right? Like I said that one long phase." Her mother sighed taking the apple pie out of the oven. "I know your grandmother is...hard handle, honey but we-"

"We're here!" Her father announced walking inside the house. She could hear the front door close and footsteps mixed with the sound of rolling luggage. Mercedes stared at her mother as if she was about to meet death, face to face. Her mother gave her the same look before painting a fake smile on her face and placing her oven mitts next to Mercedes and walking out the kitchen. Mercedes jumped off the counter and threw the half-eaten apple in the trashcan next to her. She painted the same fake smile as her mother on her features and headed towards the sound of voices in the foyer.

"Grandma," Mercedes said with fake excitement. She opened her arms and walked towards the surly woman. The brown woman wore all her 74-years on her thin wrinkled face. Her dark brown eyes fell over the interior of the home- judgment written in their depth. She looked at her grand daughter and opened her arms to receive the hug.

"You've put on some weight, did you look into that weight loss program I told you about. Amiria lost ten pounds so far. She gets more beautiful by the day"

She decided to ignore the piercing words. Mercedes was close to snapping at her grandmother, telling her Amiria was a skeleton, and she did not reach skeleton status by eating a healthy diet and working out. Her cousin starved herself so that she could be ready for pageant season. Her grandmother adored Amiria, the girl could do nothing wrong in her eyes. It has always been like that, since they were children. The reason her grandmother loved her cousin so much is because she is just like her. They both were opinionated; they both where bombastic and insensitive and they both were vain and rude. Her grandmother was a gorgeous woman in her youth and she had the attention of many men, just like her 24-year old beauty queen cousin.

Mercedes was always the black sheep in her father's side of the family. She was the fat one or as they teased her 'the dud'. She was not exceptionally beautiful or thin like her cousins, she was not valedictorian either but what she did have is talent. She used her talent to become one of the highest paid female entertainers in the world two years running. She used her talent to book sold out tours and win countless awards. But even still, in her grandmother's eyes she would never come close to Amiria- the golden child, whose only talent is looking good in a bikini.

"Nice to see you too, Grandma Ellis." Mercedes said with a tight smile as her mother looked to the ceiling biting her tongue in disbelief that the words that left her mother in-law's mouth.

The woman then focused her attention on her daughter in-law leaning against the wall.

"You haven't redecorated this place in years, Sheryl. I do think my son makes enough money for you to at least put some effort into this place since you don't do much already."

"Mother," David warned as his wife clenched her jaw the smile she wore on her face never flattering. He could see in her dark brown eyes she wanted to explode in rage.

"I have check on the food, please make yourself at home." She said slowly before turning around and walking back into the kitchen.

"Mercedes, take my things to my room; you need the exercise.

Mercedes decided to bite her tongue and obliged as her father led his mother into the living room. She lifted the heavy bag in the air and struggled her way up the stairwell praying that her grandmother would stop being a thorn in her side and praying for the strength to survive the week.

* * *

Mercedes could not take it any longer; her grandmother was driving her crazy. If it was not the digs at her weight or personal life (aka her relationship with Sam) the woman treated her like a slave, giving orders like she had the keys to the kingdom. The worst part of it is not that today was only Sunday and her grandmother was staying until Friday morning…nope the worst part is that her mother's parents suddenly decided they were coming for two days.

Her grandpa was a missionary and her grandmother was a hippie in the late seventies so the two of them loved traveling. Rather than retiring the two of them took their life savings and traveled.. They live in France but they were traveling through the US and they would be arriving in Lima tonight. Do not get her wrong she adored her grandparents...hell she loved them more than she did Grandma Ellis (mean but the truth.) The thing is her grandparents (or rather Grandma Marie) did not see eye with Grandma Ellis. Her Grandma Marie did not take crap. She dished out what people gave her. Mercedes' mother inherited her _'no nonsense-I will cut you'_ attitude which Mercedes inhereted from her.

All hell was going to break loose tonight and she was going to be in the middle of it all. The only good thing in her life now was that Sam was returning from Columbus today with a spot at Nationals. She was so excited to see her fiancé again and spend her free time at his place rather than her home that now had a black Hitler between its walls.

Mercedes set the table. Her grandparents would be arriving soon; they called ten minutes ago to tell that they were a few miles away. Her mother took out all the expensive china for them.

Her grandparents may be traveling hippies who enjoyed experiencing different cultures and cuisines the word had to offer but they were still classy people.

Her grandmother was born to an American interracial couple in 1951 to a white father and a black mother. The couple moved to France and got married there leaving their unsupportive families behind to start a new life. Her grandfather was born an Ethiopian orphan, his mother died during birth and he never knew his father so it was presumed he was dead. Her grandfather was adopted at five months by a French missionary couple in 1950 that could not have children and brought back to France. Her grandparents were raised in wealthy homes -with her grandmother's father being a jeweler and her grandfather's parents who where both heirs to their families fortunes. They were raised in lap of luxury- Mercedes guessed that was also one of the reason Grandma Ellis disliked them so.

In 1991 their eldest daughter, Sheryl Margo Blanc came to the USA at the age of 19 a free spirit who wanted to explore the world for a year before she went back to Paris to continue her studies. She met David Cecil Jones one day and a year later, they were married.

Grandma Ellis never liked her mother and Mercedes guessed that is why she did not like her much either. Mercedes was a mirror imagine of her mother, not only physically but also personality wise.

"Mercedes, make way for the casserole." A voice said.

Mercedes shook her head gently returning to earth.

"What?" she asked her mother.

"The casserole-make way." Her mother said

Mercedes moved out of the way and let her mother place the food in the middle of the table.

"Help me with the rice and salads."

Mercedes nodded and followed her mother to the kitchen. As the mother and daughter duo set the food down on the table the bell rang. They both looked at the old woman comfortably sitting on the couch not moving. She felt their eyes on her and looked at them with raised brows.

"Your doorbell is ringing. You don't expect me to get it."

Mercedes saw her mother roll her eyes.

"I'll get it." Mercedes said.

She practically skipped to the door with a smile on her face. She has not seen her grandparents in a little over a year. She opened the door expecting to see her two elderly grandparents but her smile fell when she saw her fiancé.

"Sam, what are you doing here?" She asked slowly walking onto the front porch and closing the door behind her.

"Well, nice to see you too." Sam said noticing her demeanor .

Mercedes kissed his cheek and grabbed his arm leading him down the porch.

"Look, babe, I love you. I missed you. But you can't be here tonight, okay. My grandparents are together under one roof and it is not going to be pretty. I'm trying to protect you from World War III, Sam."

"Mercedes, you can't-"

"Crap." Mercedes muttered when she saw headlights approaching the house.

"Sam, seriously, my family is crazy you don't want to be in the madness." Mercedes told him begging him with her eyes to go. "We can spend time together tomorrow and you can fill me in on everything I missed at Regionals but, Babe you gotta go."

"I don't see the big deal. You do realize for our wedding they are all probably going to be in each other's presences anyway."

Mercedes ran a hand over her face as the car stopped in her driveway.

"Grandma Ellis doesn't know about the engagement."

"Wait, what?"

"Every time I tried telling her she looks at me with those 'you are a disappointment' eyes and I just chicken out.

"Mercedes-"

"We will talk later." She said as she smiled at her grandmother climbing out of the car. The women opened her arms with a smile overtaking her features.

"Ma petite superstar."

Mercedes threw her arms around the taller thin woman.

"Bonjour Mamie." She said before kissing her grandmother. Her grandmother let her go so that she could greet her grandfather.

"Bonjour, Grand-père." She said hugging him and kissing him.

"Hello, Sam. It is nice seeing you again." The woman said to the tall blonde man whom she met years ago at her granddaughter's graduation. She hugged him pressing her cheeks to his in French custom.

"Hello, Mrs. Marie."

Sam greeted her grandfather as the older woman pulled her granddaughter to the side and whispered in her French accent:

"Time has been good to him. He blossomed into one good looking young man."

Mercedes giggled.

"Well, what can I say other than we Blanc women have good taste in men?"

Her grandmother laughed bumping her shoulder before her grandmother grew serious and whispered: "How are things going with the wicked witch of the west?"

Mercedes swallowed a laugh and told her grandmother to stop it.

"Congratulations on the engagement." Her grandfather said to Sam.

Mercedes walked over to Sam and put his arms around his waist.

"Thank you, Grandpa."

"Corbin, get the wine we have celebrating to do-"

"Actually, Sam is on his way home-"

"Nonsense, we must celebrate." The woman said throwing her arms around her two grandchildren and leading them up the porch stairs. "You, young man can use those strong young muscles to help carry our bags in later."

The woman led the couple inside the house where she then greeted her daughter and son in law with hugs and kisses. She then greeted Grandma Ellis with a civilized nod her way.

"So, this is the infamous Sam Evans, dragging my granddaughter's name through the mud."

Silence filled the room.

Sam was taken aback by the woman's harsh words. Before he could react, in a gentlemanly manner of course, Mercedes interrupted.

"Grandpa and Grandma brought ten year old wine, isn't that exciting?" She said excitedly. "Let's eat so we can enjoy it together." With a fake smile too wide.

She sent a prayer up to heaven as everybody headed towards the set table. Mercedes set a place for Sam next her. She was now nestled between Grandma Ellis and Sam. Mercedes' grandfather said grace and an awkward silence filled the room afterwards. Everybody silently reached for the dishes filling their plates with food. Of course, her grandmother had something to say when Mercedes plate was full of all the different salads and meat.

"Isn't that a little too much food? Are you really going to eat all of that with that recent weight gain of yours? We both know you don't have a quick metabolism like Amiria."

Mercedes froze with her fork and knife still clutched in her hands. She closed her eyes pressing her mouth in a tight line as embarrassment flooded her system. She could feel Sam's wide shocked eyes on her mixed with the shocked gazes of her family. She took a deep breath opening her eyes seeing out of the corner of her eyes Sam open his mouth to say something. Mercedes placed the utensils in her plate and shook her head telling Sam not to say anything. She was used to her grandmother's jabs but the fact that she did it in front of Sam...That was a new low. Mercedes grabbed the bottle of wine and poured herself a glass praying that it would take some of the embarrassment away.

"That was not needed Ellis." Her Grandmother snapped.

"I was just stating a fact and nobody really asked you for an opinion now did they, Marie?"

"Well, nobody asked you for an opinion either." Mercedes' Grand-mère Marie hissed.

Mercedes pressed the glass of red wine to her mouth and drank it all in one gulp. She immediately grabbed the bottle again and filled it as an awkward silence filled the room again. Mercedes losing her appetite pushed her food away and played with her glass of wine to pass the time. She felt Sam's hand on her knee offering her some comfort. She gave him a small smile.

Her grand-mère tried defusing the tension, unknowingly setting of a grenade.

"So, let me see the engagement ring." She said to Mercedes.

Mercedes downed her second glass of wine feeling the life leave her body.

"ENGAGEMENT RING?" Her grandmother shouted letting her fork fall to her plate with a loud _ding_. "You two are engaged."

"You didn't tell her?" Grandma Marie asked drinking her wine. "I can't really blame you." She muttered under her breath.

"You're getting married and you didn't ask me?" Her grandmother asked shocked. "You are actually marrying him. The boy was a stripper for heaven sakes-"

"Mother!" her father hissed.

"Oh please, David, ignoring it does not mean it did not happen." His mother said rolling her eyes. "And even the Bible talks about how disgraceful and wrong these types of relationships -"

"Oh don't you come here with you misinterpret version of the Holy Bible." Grand-mère Marie said as Mercedes grabbed the bottle of white wine and opened it with dread written on her face. She could feel a war starting. "I've been married to a pastor for forty-five years. I know my Bible and nowhere-"

"Of course you won't see anything wrong with it, half-breed."

Mercedes ignored her glass and brought the bottle of white wine straight to her lips. She looked at her traumatized fiancé before taking his glass and pouring it full of wine.

She whispered to him; "You're gonna need it-"

"Oh hell no!" Her grandmother shouted before going off in a string of curses in French.

"Say that to me in English, I dare you-"

The two women exchanged words, Grandma Marie using a colorful French vocabulary and Grandma Ellis with a few choice words of her own in English. Sam heard Mercedes sigh next to him as he studied her father and grandfather eating their food silently as if they were used to this sort of thing. Mrs. Jones was bowing her head whispering a prayer under her breath. Mercedes was busy downing a bottle of wine next to him.

"-Yes, because white people are the root of all evil." Marie cried sarcastically.

"Yes they are!"

Mercedes put the bottle of wine down, grabbed a glass and stood up as the two women kept on arguing. She threw the glass full force at a nearby wall causing it to shatter as she screamed in anger.

"SHUT UP ALL OF YOU!"

Everybody froze. A cloud of silence filled the room. Mercedes pointed at her Grandma Ellis.

"First of all I don't need your permission to do anything." Mercedes pointed to Sam as she continued her rant. "-You see this guy, well I'm gonna marry him and there's nothing you can do about it. Just because some messed up things happened in your life with white people does not mean that they all are evil. Okay, I am going to have, God-willing, half white babies one day. Your great-grandchildren will be as white as the inside of a damn Oreo cookie if it was up to me!" Mercedes shouted feeling the blood in her veins boil. "And if you have a problem with that, than well frankly I don't give a damn. You can ask Amiria to give you full blood black babies. The whore is on high demand in the neighborhood so she can easily find a sperm donor." Mercedes asked with a crazy bitter chuckle." You know what, I totally get why your husband divorced you, I wish I could divorce you as my freaking grandmother!"

Sam saw Mercedes' mother trying to hide a smile my taking a gulp of wine. Next to her, her husband looked at his daughter in shock.

Mercedes took a deep breath before looking at Grandma Marie.

"I love you, I do, Grand-mère. But this madness has to stop. You can't scream and shout like this on my wedding day." Mercedes said gently before looking back at her other grandmother. "I'm going to go up to my room and I'm going to take the bottle of wine with me-" Mercedes grabbed the bottle off the table. "-and yes, it's WHITE wine, Grandmother. I like WHITE wine." She hissed before taking a long gulp of her the wine.

"You people need to work out ya crap!" Mercedes said throwing deuces in air and leaving the room with the wine bottle. Sam was about to follow her out when her grandmother told him to sit down.

"Ellis you owe him an apology."

"I don't owe anybody anything-"

And so the arguing began again. Sam saw Mercedes mother gave her husband a look as she rubbed her temples. Sam decided to slip out of the room and look for Mercedes. He headed upstairs and found her in her room sitting on her bed drinking her bottle of wine. Sam closed the door behind him. She gave him a smile as he sat down next to her.

"Are you okay?" He asked gently.

"Yep." She said cheerily taking another gulp of the wine. She offered him some but he only shook his head at her. She shrugged muttering:

"More for me." She took another gulp of the wine.

"Are you okay?" He asked again.

Mercedes giggled.

"I'm doing amazing." She said resting her forehead against his shoulder. "My grandma is bitch, I'm used to it. I just can't believe I said I wanted to divorce her." Mercedes laughed against his arm.

Sam smiled at his happy fiancé getting drunker by the second. That part was kinda funny. She looked up at him with reddening eyes.

"I love you." She whispered. "My grandmother is a delusional old hag, who I want to stuff in a bag because all she does is nag with her boobs that sag." Mercedes laughed. "I should have become a rapper."

Sam gave her a small smile.

"My rap name-" Mercedes pressed the bottle to her lips. "-would have been Little M. It would have been so ironic since I'm fat and ugly according to my grandmother."

"Mercedes, don't you dare believe that-"

Mercedes pressed her finger to his lips.

"Shush, I don't need a pep talk, okay." Mercedes whispered before asking: "Can I sleep at your place tonight?"

"Of course."

"Okay," She said taking one last gulp of the wine and putting it down on her bedside table. She pulled out her drawer and pulled out a black box and taking out her engagement ring. "My finger felt so naked without it on." She said placing it back on her finger for the first time since she took it of Friday afternoon planning on telling her grandmother of the engagement later in the week when the right time came. "I love you so much." Mercedes told her fiancé again before getting up and searching her closet for necessities for the night.

* * *

Mercedes woke when her crying bladder forced out of bed. Sam was lying next to her taking deep slow breaths. She slipped out from under the light covers and headed to the bathroom. After doing her business she searched Sam's cabinets for Advil to dull the pain in her throbbing head. She washed her face before heading to the living room to watch some early morning TV. She switched on the TV to see it was 4am. She flipped through the channels until she found some reality show cat fight playing out on screen. About fifteen minutes into the show, Sam walled into the living area rubbing his tired eyes.

"I didn't feel you next to me." Sam explained walking towards her. "What are you watching?" He asked.

Mercedes smiled at her confused fiancé who looked too sexy so early in the morning.

"Some horribly entertaining reality show." She said rolling to the edge of the couch making space for him to lie down behind her. He wrapped his arms around her kissing the back of her neck. They lied for a moment in silence with the show playing in the background.

"My mother sent me a text last night to tell me my grandmother is leaving today. She and my dad had a fight after we left last night and dad told her if she had nothing good to say that she should leave so she decided to leave."

"How are you feeling?" He asked. Earlier Mercedes could care less about what her grandmother said when she still had alcohol in her system but now that most of the alcohol was flushed out of her system she could really think about all that was said.

Mercedes shrugged.

Sam sighed taking the remote control from her and pausing the television. Mercedes turned around to face him annoyed.

"I asked you a question."

"I'm fine, Sam. I am used to my grandmother and her jabs. The wine just gave me enough courage to snap at her for the first time."

Sam tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear.

"Am I allowed to call her a bitch?"

Mercedes chuckled.

"No, you're not and neither am I. The angel on my shoulder is telling him to be a good person and apologize for my behavior because even though she is mean, judgmental and a little crazy she is still my grandmother and I need to respect her. To respect her I don't necessarily need to like her though." Mercedes said before taking a deep breath. "I'm sorry about what she said to and about you."

"It's fine-"

"No, it's not." She said gently pressing her warm palms to his cheek. "Nobody has the right to say those things to you. I'll talk to her about it later and make her understand that she can't say those things about you. If it was me, I could let it be but it's you and I don't like it. If she was anybody but my grandmother I would totally kick her ass to infinity and beyond."

"Really Buzz Lightyear?" Sam asked referring to the animated space ranger catch phrase

Mercedes shoved him.

"Don't judge me, I liked that show as a kid. I also loved the little green men. I wasn't mad about Buzz in the Toy Story movies though."

"You're just a hater, Mercedes."

"No, I'm not; I just know good movies and good characters."

"Says the girl who likes Sharknado." Sam cried.

"Sharknado is awesome, Sam. You need to sit down and accept it in all its awesome glory."

Sam rolled his eyes pulling her closer. His eyes roamed over her body clad in a pair of Spongebob boxers (which he totally made fun of last night) and an old washed out stretched shirt that clung to her chest. Mercedes flicked his forehead.

"Stop perving. I'm not a piece of meat."

"Wait, so you are allowed to sexually harass me with your eyes but I'm not."

"Yip, I'm feminist like that," Mercedes joked kissing him gently before pulling away and looking into his eyes turning serious. "Do you have any idea how much I love you?" She whispered letting the adoration shine in her eyes. Sometimes she would look at him and the intensity of the love she had for him would sometimes cause her heartbeat to accelerate and steal her breath away. The realization that she actually found her soul mate...that she found the person who totally completed her...it was overwhelming yet so beautiful and amazing. Sam gave her that lopsided grin that she loved so much.

"Well, you did agree to marry me so I kinda gathered that." Sam said jokingly kissing her forehead. He pulled her close resting his chin on her head. "I love you too." He whispered.

* * *

 **So, what did you all think of this. I kinda wanted to make Mercedes family history a little more interesting since not much is known about it. I hope you enjoyed :) Review**


	13. Chapter 12

**Sorry I took so long to update. I have been a little busy these past two weeks. Thanks for the reviews (positive and negative).**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Glee and its characters.**

 **I hope you all enjoy :):**

* * *

"Oh...hmm...yeah...really?" Mercedes said pretending to listen to Rachel's rant over the phone.

She tried to stop from moaning as Sam's soft lips kissed down the side of her neck down to her shoulder. His warm breath danced her skin causing goose bumps behind. His right hand roamed dangerously low- his fingertips running over the skin of her thigh.

Mercedes gently pushed Sam away warning him with her eyes to stop his seductive ways while she was on the phone. He gave her a small impish smile before sliding his hand higher up her thigh feeling the spanks she was wearing underneath her dress. Sam rolled his hips against hers before continuing his seductive assault on her neck.

Sparks of electricity, an unbearable want...no need for her lover overtook her body. She felt hot. She felt weak. She could feel him everywhere. She could hear his soft breathing; feel his warm breath against the base of her throat. She could smell his musky manly scent surrounding her...

 _'Why did he have to make celibacy so hard?'_ She wondered.

Mercedes' closed her eyes as she bit her lip trying to stop herself from whimpering his name out in Rachel's ear. Sam kissed her chin before pressing his hot mouth to her lips and tasting her. She lost herself in the kiss and forgot she was still on the phone with Rachel. In that moment she forgot her name; what year it was, what country she was in...all she knew was that his kiss...his touch was all she wanted in that moment. Before she could deepen the kiss Sam pulled away hovering above her, their foreheads touching. He gave her a sly smile before pressing his lips to her neck.

Mercedes took a deep breath trying to control her frantic heart as Rachel droned on in her ear.

"-I mean was that too much to ask?"

Mercedes closed her eyes again when she felt Sam's warm tongue tasting her skin before slipping back into his mouth.

He could feel her soft body shiver beneath his.

'Am I distracting you?' he whispered innocently against her collarbone.

"Yeah." Mercedes breathed through the lump of her throat. She could feel Sam's satisfied smirk against her collarbone.

' _The jerk was actually enjoying putting her through torture.'_

"Wait-what...I can't believe you're taking his side!" Rachel exclaimed in disbelief on the other side of the line.

Mercedes, realizing her slip up, pushed Sam away giving him a scowl, which he responded to, by giving her a sly smirk. He did not heed her warning and went back to distracting her with his oh so soft kisses.

"No...I'm not agreeing with him...I'm just watching a show...I just got a little invested, that's all." Mercedes lied biting her lip as Sam's warm breath caressed her skin. She could feel his teeth scrape against her neck. She denied the urge to moan. "Look, Rachel, we'll talk later."

"Mercedes, I-"

"Bye, love you." Mercedes said before ending the call before Rachel could continue her rant. The woman called her a half-hour ago to rant about something horrid Jesse said...or rather did not say. In all honesty, Mercedes forgot most of what Rachel told her anyway. Sam distracting her the whole time with his evil soft kisses made it hard to concentrate.

"Stop distracting me with that trouty mouth of yours." Mercedes said tossing her phone on the nearby coffee table.

Sam gave her a lopsided grin as he leaned over her. He pressed his nose against hers staring into her eyes with mischief written in his green gaze. He wrapped his arm around her waist.

"Oh you love my kisses." He said before kissing her mouth and seducing her with his tongue in her mouth and hands on her body.

She wrapped her arms around his neck, entwine her fingers in the short hair at the back of his head. Their bodies danced together in a passionate painfully slow seductive tango. His skin felt torched beneath his clothes. His body wanted more of her. His bones charged with electricity drawn to her. He wanted to feel every inch of her skin touching his. He wanted to hear her sigh out his name. He wanted to feel her pulsating heart drum against his chest...

He wanted to be with her. He wanted to explore the uncharted territory of her body.

However, now was not the time. In a few months, they would be married then he did not need to practice all this damn self-control. It was getting harder and harder (literally) being so close to her...feeling every inch of her soft body but not being able to her fulfill his body's desires for her...

Mercedes pulled away from him. Her warm breath danced over his parted lips. Their heavy breathing echoed through Sam's living room. He could feel her chest against his as they both filled their desperate lungs with much needed air.

"Red Skull." Mercedes whispered against his mouth.

Sam groaned burying his face in the side of her neck.

"You have to stop saying that. We need to find another safe word. It's so sexy when you talk geek." Sam said as if he was in pain. "You are really making this unnecessarily harder then it is already."

Mercedes smirked running her hand through his blonde locks he finally let cut a few days ago. She loved Sam's short hair. She pressed her lips against his earlobe, opened her mouth her warm breath causing tingles down his spine, and whispered into his ear:

"Red Skull."

She slid her free hand not in his hair under his shirt running her fingers over the tight muscles of his back before following the path of his spine.

"Red Skull. Red Skull. Red Skull." Mercedes whispered seductively.

"You are so evil." Sam whispered against her collarbone. Goose bumps erupted over his skin followed by warmth making its way through his body.

He kissed her again pressing his palm against her cheek. He kissed her deeply before forcing himself off her before they both got tempted to give into the want of their bodies. With the approaching wedding celibacy just got harder and harder everyday. He got off her and sat on the other side of the couch putting some distance between them.

She sat up straight and fixed her clothes catching her breath. Sam pulled down his shirt that ridded up hiding his toned stomach from her view. Once they both got their bodies under control, they went to their prior, before making out, position with him opening his legs and Mercedes between his legs pressing her back against his chest.

"So, what's up with Rachel and Jesse?" Sam asked as Mercedes made she comfortable against him.

"I don't know. He said something. She over-reacted. Kurt isn't answering his phone so she decided to call and rant to me." Mercedes said rolling her eyes. She loved Rachel, she did but at times Rachel's dramatics were just too much. The woman was like a younger, at times annoying, sister.

Sam nodded resting his chin on her head.

The couple lied on the couch basking in each other's presence. These moments were Sam's favorite; he felt at total peace in her presence with no words needed. As much as he would like to take her to places, she has not been yet and give in to his physical need for her, these moments - him just holding her, were intimate enough. He never felt so close to a girl without sex until he met Mercedes. Emotionally and mentally, Mercedes Jones satisfied his desire for companionship. He knew sex with Mercedes would be amazing and that she was worth all the bone-chilling cold showers.

Sam kissed her temple making her turn in his arms and lift her gaze to his. She gave him a beautiful smile. He took the opportunity to press his palm to her cheek and kiss her again. This kiss was sweet and gentle, not frenzied and passionate like the previous kisses they shared that afternoon.

Once he broke the kiss, she smiled up at him before resting her head against his chest and watching the television.

* * *

Mercedes stared at the talking man as if he had a second head growing from the side of his neck. She leaned against her fiancé sitting next to her watching the man's mouth move but not understanding half of what the architect said as he explained the plans for their home.

Mercedes and Sam were remodeling their house and planning on taking out a few walls to make some rooms bigger so they got an architect to ensure the building does not collapse.

The man was using building lingo and asking them to use their imagination as he explained everything. Mercedes did not have a creative visual imagination as Sam did.

Speaking of Sam, he was in his element now. Sam and the guy were enjoying bouncing ideas off each other for the past hour. Years ago Sam confided in her that in the beginning of senior year he wanted to be architect and create beautiful buildings one day but all the math needed and his weak SAT's scores killed the probability of that happening.

Mercedes looked at her excited fiancé with a small smile on her face glad to see him living out a little piece of his teenage dreams.

"Babe, what do you think about that?" Sam asked looking at her.

Mercedes pretended that she was listening to what was said by saying,

"I like that idea.'

Mercedes was giving Sam full creative control for building the home. All Mercedes knew was that she wanted a music room where she could write her music and play her piano. That, and a nursery, was all rooms she cared about so she let Sam have his creative space. She just hoped he'd remember that when she starts with her interior designing and paints a few walls pink.

"I think we should break down this wall to make the room bigger. Place big windows here...and here to look out to the pool in the backyard from the kitchen. We can also place sliding glass doors here. I don't want to take away from the old-school feeling of the home but it's a bit dated." Sam said.

The man nodded and made notes before he continued with his ideas.

"The idea is the style of an Italian Villa; classic proportions dressed with a Mediterranean twist. The front will look beautiful and rustic. The roof will be flat with wide overhanging eaves supported by decorative brackets. The windows will be arranged in orderly ranks and enhanced with elaborate crowning of frames."

Mercedes nodded pretending to know what the guy meant with _'Mediterranean twist'._

"Inside the kitchen will give view of the family room, if we take down that wall, and also a breakfast nook. A black swirling staircase can replace the old one. The second floor will have the master suite with the bathroom and two walk in closets- a bigger one for Mr Jones of course. We can make a door between the wall separating the master bedroom and the neighboring bedroom that we will turn into a nursery. Two guest bedrooms will only be painted and the family bathroom expanded. The smaller top story will home a soundproof music room for Mrs. Mercedes and also a small art studio/ work space for Sam in the smaller room next to yours over looking the lake down in the distance. And the basement will be turned into a man cave so that all Sam's electronic toys are 'out of the way' like you wanted." The man said.

"Dude, I love that." Sam said before looking at Mercedes. "What do you think?"

"It sounds perfect," Mercedes said with a small smile. "Now all we need is landscaper."

They spent another half-hour in the architect's office going through every detail before construction would begin that coming Monday. Sam opened the glass doors of the Architecture and Interior design building. She tucked her arm around his waist letting him lead her down the sidewalk with a soft smile painted on her face.

"Well, you seem happy." Sam noted as they walked towards Lima Bean for afternoon coffee around the corner.

"It is just exciting;" She said smiling up at him. "We're starting our lives together- renovating our dream home, planning a wedding. It's exciting."

Sam grinned wrapping his arm around her shoulders.

"So, did you tell Rachel that Tina is your maid of honor yet?" Sam asked.

"No but I have a plan. Tina is going to be my maid of honor and Rachel is my matron of honor." Mercedes said.

She came up with the idea a few days ago. She knew Rachel was going to burst a vein if she is not made maid of honor so Mercedes had to make a plan since she cannot go back on her word when she already made Tina maid of honor. Rachel still could not get over the fact that Mercedes was the maid of honor at Britanna's- and unexpectedly Klaine's, wedding. Rachel wanted to feel how it felt being a maid of honor.

"Is there a difference between the two?" Sam asked confused.

"One is married, one isn't married yet."

"Oh." Sam said finally comprehending that they are not the same thing. "Stevie is my best man and the rest of the guys are groomsmen; very uncomplicated." Sam said before asking: "Did you make the appointment for the fittings?"

"We're not even married yet and you already think I'm your PA," She joked making him grin. "Yeah, I did; it's next week Saturday while I'm in New York with the girls to do shopping for bridesmaid dresses and meet with my dress designer for my wedding dress since going to a bridal store and ordering one will take months we don't have if we want to get married in a little more than two months."

Sam nodded opening the door of the coffee shop for her. She sat down at a nearby table as Sam went to the counter to order their drinks. Mercedes stared out the window with a soft smile on her face losing herself in thought. She was getting married in a few months. She was starting a new life with- as corny as it sounds- the love of her life. They were building a home for them and their children to make beautiful memories in. She was so happy.

Mercedes felt a hand on her shoulder prompting her to look up. She recognized two girls from McKinley when she randomly went to help the Glee kids. She painted a smile on her face as a greeting.

"Hello, Miss Jones my friend and I...we really love you and your music." The young girl said with a shy smile. "Can we please have your autograph?"

"Sure," Mercedes said diving into her handbag for a pen. She asked their names and wrote short notes to both of them on their napkins with little hearts. She handed them the napkins back just as Sam sat down with their coffees.

The girls greeted their music teacher.

"You two make a really cute couple," The Indian girl said while her blonde friend nodded. "Can I take a picture for my blog?"

Mercedes questioningly looked to Sam and saw him looking at her before shrugging. They told the girl yes and smiled for a picture. The girl thanked them and took her friend by the arm bidding them goodbye.

The two girls then left them to their drinks. Sam handed her the Caramel Frappuccino before taking a sip of his Pumpkin Spiced Latte. Mercedes rubbed her calf against his jean-clad legs under the table before tangling their legs together. He leaned over the table resting his chin on his free palm. Mercedes leaned forward resting her elbows on the table to kiss his cheek before wrapping both her hands around the cup.

Sam took another sip of his latte leaving a cream mustache behind.

"You have a little something ...everywhere."

Sam tried to lick it off before giving up and taking another sip and thickening his mustache

Mercedes giggled taking a sip of her own flavored coffee leaving a cream mustache off her own behind.

"Mine is way better than yours." Sam said sounding like a little kid wanting to one-up his friend.

"You can't even see yours."

"I can feel its thickness." Sam said. "It's superior to yours."

Mercedes rolled her eyes and wiped away her mustache away with a napkin before wiping off Sam's mustache. Sam leaned over the table and kissed her gently before going back to sipping on his latte.

* * *

They lied in the darkness of the night on a blanket with a picnic basket next to them. The soft hum of the lake waters in small distance met their ears. The soft breeze of the spring wind danced over their exposed arms.

"Are you okay?" Sam asked Mercedes looking down at her in his arms with the help of the full moon, a nearby park light and the lantern he brought with him for their date.

His fiancé has been acting strangely reserved since he arrived at her home with flowers in hand and a picnic basket in his car for a surprise date under the stars. He planned a romantic date for them under the veil of darkness and glitter of the stars. Girls like romantic things like that.

 _Yeah, Sam could totally get his romance on when needed._

However, his girl has not been herself and it was really bumming him out. He really put a lot of thought into this and he wanted to make her feel special and appreciated after the whole grandmother incident but it seems that his efforts where going unnoticed judging by the blank faraway expression she wore on her face most of the night. She was too silent for comfort and seemed in a world of her own.

She looked up at Sam- a small fake smile painted on her face.

"Uhm...yeah...I'm just a little distracted, that's all." She answered.

Sam knew it was something more than she led on so he decided to press her further. He let go off her letting her shrug out of his arms. He sat up and looked down at her as she stared at the stars avoiding his gaze.

"Mercedes, what is wrong?" Sam asked seriously.

She took a deep breath and sat up next to him pulling her knees to her chest. She still avoided his gaze, this time by staring at the full moon dancing on the surface of black water of the lake in the distance. Sam took her small warm hand in his as she sighed.

"What's up? You've been faking smiles the whole night through." He said softly before slowly repeating: "What is wrong?"

"I went to the doctor today, just to get a layout of the land and make sure everything is in working condition like it should be." Mercedes said staring at her knees and drawing circles with her free hand.

"And?" Sam asked worriedly suddenly more alert at the probability that there was something wrong with her health. "What did the doctor say? Are you okay?" He asked straightening his spine and moving closer to her.

Mercedes bit her lip before sighing and continuing.

"The OB/GYN noticed a cyst on my left ovary and internal scarring when she did an exam and but she is taking a few more test to make sure what it is. She thinks it might be endometriosis. I'm going for a laparoscopy next week so that she can see the severity of the endometriosis and remove what she can." Mercedes said feeling a lump growing in her throat as all the fears and emotion she tried ignoring suddenly rained down on her making it hard to breathe. Tears burned beneath her eyelids. She felt Sam's strong arms around her. She lost her composure. She buried her face in his neck as she wrapped her arms around his waist.

"What if I can't have-have children?" She sobbed against his neck tightening her arms around him. "What if I can't give-give you kids, Sam?" She asked against shoulder. "I know you want children. I want children. What if I can't- I can't give you-" Sam hugged her tightly letting her cry and ramble unintelligible sentences in the crook of his neck. The pain in her voice was unbearable to him. He rested his head on her head rubbing her back whilst she cried.

"Babe, it will be okay-"

She pushed him away looking into his eyes with tears in her own. She looked afraid. She looked vulnerable.

"No, it won't, Sam. What if I can't-?"

He interrupted pressing his palms to his cheeks and trying to calm her with his eyes

"Listen, Mercedes, I love you." He whispered and kissed her forehead. "We don't know for sure if it is endometriosis and if it is and you can't have children one day then we'll adopt, okay. So many children in the world need good homes and love that we can give to them. Family is not always blood related it's the people we choose to love." He said with a small smile looking into her unconvinced eyes. "Mercedes, I love you."

She swallowed the lump in her throat as Sam wiped away her tears. She wanted to believe him. She wanted everything to be okay.

"We are going to find out everything we can about endometriosis and we're gonna face this together okay." Sam said slowly leaving no room for argument in his voice. "You are going to be okay...we are going to be okay."

He kissed her forehead before hugging her against him and holding her tightly.

"Everything will be okay." He said.

* * *

 **You can Google Endometriosis but the next chapter will give more clarity about the disease. Depending on the severity it does not cause infertility in most cases, only when it is very severe and leaves scaring behind that will make it hard to conceive (or so I read…I got all my info off Google…I'm not a medical student). For me personally, the probability of not having children one day is kinda scary, since I really want children one day, so I imagine it would be scary too for Mercedes no matter how big or small the probability.**

 **I know some of you are like; 'why did you have to do that?!' But relationships do need some challenges to make them stronger. Plus a story does need some high points and low points or else it gets boring.**

 **Anyhow, leave your reviews and tell me what you think of the chapter :)**

 **God bless :)**


	14. Chapter 13

**I hope you all enjoy. Thanks for the previous reviews.**

* * *

"Are you ready?" Sam asked taking her hand in his.

Mercedes stared at the hospital building as if it was a prison. The gynecologist got the results back from the biopsy and she wanted to see Mercedes. Mercedes wanted to go alone but Sam decided to tag along for moral support.

These past few days he has been reading up on everything there is to know about endometriosis. Mercedes was going out of her mind with fear and he was trying to ease her with absorbing as much information as he could about it. What he read thus far is that even if she had the disease only 1/3 woman have trouble getting pregnant and he really did not hope she was in that percentage. Sam even went to the gynecologist as well to make sure that everything was fine and that he could sire children. The doc gave him a clean bill of health.

"You don't have to come in with me, Sam." She said looking at their linked hands.

He brought her hand to his lips and kissed it.

"I want to."

Mercedes bit her lip staring at the building as she has been doing for the past ten minutes. She sighed.

"What if-"

"Mercedes, we don't even know if it is endometriosis and we don't know if whatever it is will make you infertile." Sam said cutting her off and trying to ease her fear. He could feel the waves of anxiety roll off her.

"I'm scared." She whispered looking him in the eye.

He tightened his grip on her hand offering her support.

"I know," Sam said. "But sitting in this car until the end of the world will not change the result of that test.

Mercedes sighed. "I know." She wiped away tears threatening to fall from her eyes. "I'm just-I- What if she confirms my fear and tells me I can't have children, Sam?" Her voice wavered with each word she said, her throat tightened. "I've always wanted to be a mom, Sam. I have always dreamed of being a mother. I-I-I-" She broke down in sobs. The fear and the pain at the possibility that she could not be a mother...it broke Sam's heart. He wrapped his arms around letting her softly sob against his chest.

Once the sobs stopped, she pulled away taking deep breaths as she wiped her tears away. Sam stayed silent having no idea what to do and how to bring her comfort. She studied herself in the mirror before grabbing her compact make up out of handbag and fixing her make up. She practiced a small smile in the mirror before looking at Sam.

"Let's go."

They both got out the car, Sam locking it behind him. He offered her his arm and together they walked into the Gynecologist's office. The fifty- year old receptionist greeted them politely before leading them to the examination room and leaving them to get Dr Mosley. Mercedes sat on the examination bed as Sam pulled the free chair to sit on.

"It'll be okay." Sam said taking her hand. She gave a tight-lipped smile before focusing her attention on the door.

The Indian woman walked into the room greeting them with a smile and shaking both their hands. The woman took a seat pressing the clipboard to her chest.

"Okay, so I got the results of the tests back," the woman began watching Mercedes tightened her grip on Sam's hand. "It seems to be endometriosis. Did you read the pamphlets I gave you?"

Mercedes face fell.

"Yeah, she did. We both did. We also looked online so we're well aware of what it is." Sam answered for her

"First of all I don't want you guys to worry okay: I won't know the severity of it until I perform the laparoscopy and get in there. Now, the good news is thus far I don't see much internal scaring and I think I can cut off the cyst on the ovaries without damaging it or having to cut it totally off but like I said I first have to get in there to see what I'm working with. But I have hope that your endometriosis will not cause infertility but we won't know until you try for children the natural way without fertility drugs. If infertility is a problem when you two decide to have children there are many fertility treatment we can try." She placed a hand on Mercedes knee. "I will try my absolute best to ensure that you two have as many caramel, green-eyed curly-haired children as your hearts desire. Don't give up hope and don't stress about it, okay."

Mercedes gave the woman a thankful smile before taking a deep breath and tightening her grip on Sam's hand.

"Okay."

* * *

"-They took her in for surgery an hour ago." Sam told his mother over the phone as he walked around the waiting room.

Sam was silently going crazy. He has been watching a lot of Grey's Anatomy and The Night Shift with Mercedes and he knew things could go terribly wrong during the easiest routine surgeries. They could find a tumor or something or she could die on the table. Sam was terrified. Luckily, Mercedes' mother was also there to help keep him sane.

"Hey, everything will be okay," she said trying to comfort him. She could hear the worry in his voice.

"I hope so, Mom." Sam sighed.

Their parents were the only people who knew about her surgery today. They did not want to worry their friends and they did not feel the need to share the inner workings and trails of their relationship for the world to see.

Sam decided to change the subject before his mind could run crazy with him.

"So how are Grandma and Grandpa doing?"

He has not talked to his grandparents after they had a fight about his relationship with Mercedes. His mother was raised in a very small town in Alabama so her parents did not mix with other races much. His grandparents were still stuck in early 1900's and did not like this whole _'interracial trend'_ \- as they said, going on in the world. They hated the fact that their blonde, green-eyed white grandson was shaming the bloodline. Sam decided to cut them out of his life entirely.

"Good, they are doing well." He could hear something off in his mother's voice. He sighed:

"They've been talking trash about Mercedes and me, right?"

He heard his mother sighed.

"Yeah."

"I guess they won't be coming to the wedding."

"Nope, they aren't but your other grandmother and grandfather was coming. Most of your father's siblings are coming with their kids except and Uncle Eric and his family is also coming. So he'll be there form my side of the family."

His mother's brother Eric was the first of his mother's family side whom married a non-white woman when he married a Native American woman. Neither received much support from their families since her family was trying to safe their shrinking race of people. And his uncles side of the family did not like the interracial thing.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Mercedes' mother (who disappeared earlier in search of a bathroom) and the doctor walking into the waiting room. Sam swallowed the lump in his throat.

"Mom, I'll talk to you later." Sam said. Before the woman could say anything, Sam ended the call.

The woman shrugged on her white jacket over her scrubs as she walked towards him with a smile on her face.

"Smile, Sam, it looks like your about to faint." The woman joked standing still in front of him. "I just told your soon-to-be mother in law everything went according to plan. They are about to take her to the room and wait for her to wake up."

Sam could finally breathe.

"I cut off the cyst on her ovaries without harming them and got rid of all the excess tissue. I'm keeping her here for the night for post-op and tomorrow she can go home."

"Thank you so much Dr Mosley. Can I hug you?"

The woman laughed and opened her arms to receive the hug.

"I'll let the nurse call you to see her once Mercedes is settled in the room." The woman then left Sam and his mother-in-law.

Mercedes mother hugged him.

"See, it is okay. You were worried for nothing."

Sam gave a small laugh.

"I have to stop watching those medical shows with Mercedes." Sam said breathing out a sigh of relieve.

* * *

"Are you okay?"

Mercedes rolled her eyes.

"Yes, mother."

"Hahahah." Sam said sarcastically before turning serious. "Seriously, Mercedes is everything fine. Do you have any pain? Are you taking your medicine? When are you coming home? Are-"

"Sam, calm down please." Mercedes said. Ever since she was discharged from the hospital, Sam has been obsessed with her health. He nearly died of an heart attack when she booked tickets to her flight to New-York. She did ask her doctor if she could fly a week after surgery and even though the woman was a little apprehensive at first she gave her a go ahead since Mercedes was flying first class and in comfortable seats. The designer needed to take her measurements and start on the dress if she wanted it to be done by July for the wedding. In addition, she and the girls (and Kurt of course) needed wedding attire for the wedding and they were already on a tight schedule.

"I'm just worried." Sam said. "A week ago you were on a surgeon's table."

Mercedes sighed walking out of her bathroom into her guest room suite at the Hummel-Anderson's.

"I know you're worried about my health but Doctor Mosley said all is cool and fine I just have to go for check ups with her; which I went to." Mercedes said before sighing. "Sam what's this really about; you've been acting like my shadow, dietician, therapist, and hound dog. What's this really about?"

She heard her fiancé sigh. "It was scary, Mercedes. It was so damn scary, the thought of you lying on that operating room no matter how small or how big the operation...it was scary Mercedes. It was scary and it just made me think of how fragile life is...I just don't want anything to happen to you."

Mercedes smiled putting her hand to her chest.

"Do you have any idea how much I love you at this moment?" Mercedes asked. "With that being said, Sammy you can't live in fear for the unknown forever. I know it was scary for you and it was scary for me to but it's over and I'm okay." Mercedes said gently as she sat down on her bed.

She was exhausted. After arriving in New York: she was off to the designer and they finally settled for a beautiful light lace dress for her garden wedding. Tomorrow she and the girls (and Kurt) were looking for wedding clothes.

"Yeah, I guess your right. I just love you too much is all." Sam said. "So, what are you up to?" He asked changing the subject.

"I just got out of the shower and I'm about to get ready for bed." She said lying down and pulling the comforter over her. "Nick is so cute by the way. He's keeping his parents on their toes." Mercedes said with a chuckle before giving a small sigh. "He makes me want a baby of my own...if I can"

"Hey, remember what the doctor said; we won't know until we try and if we have a little trouble there are treatments-"

"Sam, what if I can't have children?" She said. Mercedes was not an idealist; don't get her wrong she had hope and she had faith but she was realistic...and at times maybe a little cynical. She never thought of the possibility of infertility until she went to the gynecologist for the first time. It scared the crap out of her "Sam, I want you to be a dad-"

"Mercedes, we have talked about this-"

"Sam have you really, like really thought about this?" Mercedes asked. She then told him her biggest fear, her throat tightening and tears freely falling "Parenthood is one of the major transitions in life. What if I can't have children, Sam? What if I can't fulfill that wish of yours, Sam? I do not want to rob you of your chance of fatherhood. I don't want you to look at me like I'm some kind of disappointment." She was afraid in a few years that he would resent her. "I don't want you to-"

"Mercedes, just stop please." She could hear the hurt and anger in his voice. "How can you ever think-I can't fathom why you would think that?" He asked exasperated. "I love you, Mercedes. I love you." He repeated saying each word slowly. "I know you're afraid," Sam said gently after taking a deep breath. "But like the doc said, we don't know for sure if you can't have children until we try and if we have a little trouble there are treatments. If those treatments don't work and we can't have biological children together, then babe that won't stop me loving you or make me look at you any differently."

Mercedes wiped away her fallen tears.

"But we don't know for sure yet and I don't want you to worry about that yet because we don't know what the future holds and like you said; 'you can't live in fear of the unknown'."

Mercedes took a deep breath letting his words wash over her and calm her worries. A small smile painted itself on her face.

"You're right." She said.

"I always am."

Mercedes raised a brow even though he could not see it with a small smile on her face.

"Let's not exaggerate now, shall we?" She said as she turned off the lamp. She heard Sam laugh in her ear as she made herself comfortable in her bed. They lied for a few seconds just listening to each other's breathing before Mercedes said:

"Hey, I love you."

"I love you more." Sam said. "So how was your day?"

* * *

Mercedes locked her new Jeep behind her. Since she was going to stay in Lima, she decided to buy herself a car so she would stop using her parents and Sam as chauffeurs. She dug in her handbag for house keys as she walked towards her front door talking on her cell phone.

"Are you crazy? No." Mercedes told her manager as she heard Chester and Shakespeare dogs barked from the side of the house.

"Mercedes, they are willing to pay $25,000 for the wedding photos. Think about it-"

"Rebecca, I'm not capitalizing on one of the most important days of my life." Mercedes said slowly trying to drum it into her manager's head.

She and Sam were going to have a small intimate ceremony with Lake Erie in background surrounded with close friends and family. She was not having a lavish Hollywood wedding like most celebrities and she was most definitely not selling her wedding details to the tabloids.

"And it's not like I need the money, Rebecca."

She heard Rebecca give an irritated sigh.

"Okay, okay fine," the woman said letting it go. "Did you get the call from the people of the BET Awards to perform yet?"

"Yes, I did." Mercedes said as she unlocked the front door of her childhood home. "But I turned them down-"

"You what!"

Mercedes wanted to perform at the BET Awards, really she did. The BET stage was the first televised stage she ever performed on all those years ago so the award. But she was going on her honeymoon. Performance rehearsals during the first few summer weeks of her marriage were not romantic. This summer was going to be all about her and Sam no award show, song collaborations or any other event was going to change her mind.

"Mercedes, why does it sound like you're going into retirement?" Rebecca asked as Mercedes opened the door of the house.

"I call it mini-retirement-".

"Mercedes you are in the prime of your career-"

"I'm more than my career, Rebecca-" Mercedes snapped.

"Mercedes you are a talented young woman but if you want to be remembered years from now you need to work and work and work. You are still so young. You can reach so many height in your career before you settle down and start a family to live happily ever after and what not." The woman said. "Years ago, when we started working together you were hungry for the spotlight you knew you deserved. You breathed your music and now that you reached your goals, you are deciding to give up. Where is that hunger, Mercedes? Where is that fire? You cannot tell me you lost it because of some boy."

Mercedes sighed; she knew Rebecca was right: she was still young and she could achieve so much more in her career. Rebecca was always right and that is why she was Mercedes' manager.

She and Rebecca were not friends...and Mercedes liked it like that. Rebecca was business orientated and Mercedes needed that for her career. But Mercedes was more than just her career. She loved music, she loved her fans but she wanted a baby, she wanted a husband, she wanted normalcy for a while. The spotlight she was deprived of in high school and Glee club was now shinning down her and in all honesty, the light was blinding. The world did not treat her as a person anymore but rather an object to be judged and talked about. People treated her like a robot at times: a machine that just sings and performs award show after award show, a machine that just pumps out more music. It was emotionally draining.

Mercedes took a deep breathe before calmly saying: "Rebecca, look you are a great business person and manager but when it comes to emotion and personal problems...well you kinda suck. I love music I do but I need to take a break from Hollywood and focus on myself. I want to be a wife and mother who is going to be a part of my children's lives everyday. I don't want nannies raising my children. I'm doing what best for my emotionally health." She said politely. "Look, it was nice talking to you but I have to go. Rebecca why don't you and your husband take a long vacation or something since I don't plan on doing anything for a while. Bye."

* * *

"That thing is ugly." Sam said as Mercedes cuddled the creature against her chest.

"He's not ugly; he's cute in an untraditional way."

Sam raised his brows as he studied the naked mole-rat pretending to be a cat in his fiancé's arms. The thing looked like it survived a zombie-apocalypse.

Mercedes gently petted the...thing and told Sam to do the same thing. Sam pulled a face and cringed away from her and the cat. Sam loved animals, really he did. But that thing currently resting in Mercedes arms was not an animal, it was a mutant alien sent from another planet to gather intelligence and take over the human race.

"I'm not touching that overgrown hairless rat." He said. He was afraid that thing would attack flooding his blood with a deadly virus and making all his hair fall out. The cat creeped him out. He also presumed the thing did not like him either judging by the way that it was staring at him through its narrowed lids.

"It's not rat it's a cat." Mercedes said rolling her eyes at Sam before continuing cooing at the cat in her arms. "It's a Sphynx cat. Did you know cats were considered sacred in ancient Egypt?"

"That is not a cat, Mercedes." Sam said.

Before Mercedes could reply, the animal shelter worker came back into the room housing a variety of cat species in different cages.

When she and Sam met for a victory Saturday lunch after winning Nationals they were highjacked by a Lima Animal Shelter worker who was handing out pamphlets and begging people to adopt some of the animals who were going to be euthanized. Both being animal lovers were empathetic to the cause and decided to go pay a visit to the shelter.

"Sorry for the long wait, we just got in another stray bulldog; he has quite the temper," The redhead man said as he straightened his clothes. "So, has the little guy stolen your heart?" The man named Andrew asked nodding to the small six-month-old hairless cat in her arms.

"Yeah, he has." Mercedes said before Sam could reply with a big fat 'no'. "If you don't mind me asking but how did he get in here? They sell these pure cat breeds for a thousand dollars in pet shops. I can't believe somebody would just willingly give him away."

"Actually he belonged to an eighty-two year old widow. After her husband died, she adopted a whole bunch of cats to fill the void since they did not have children and most of their friends are dead. She had a heart attack in her sleep and nobody knew since she did not really talk to her neighbors. She lied dead in the house for like three weeks leaving her twenty-six cats without food and water for all those weeks. Six of them died of starvation and dehydration. By some miracle, that little guy survived. I remember when we found him a month ago; he was so thin and frail. You could see the fear in his eyes."

Now Sam felt like a total ass for disliking the weird-looking pink thing glaring at him as he contently purred in Mercedes' arms. The little rat was a fighter.

"So, are you going to take him? A lot of people don't want him because of how strange he looks and because he needs more care and maintenance than a normal cat does." Andrew said. "If he doesn't get adopted by today we'll have to put him down to make space for new animals."

Mercedes looked at Sam with wide begging eyes bringing the cat eye level with him to guilt him into loving. Sam sighed. When the shelter worker decided to guilt them into coming in and adopting an animal Sam thought that they were going to adopt a little McConaughey 2.0 not a mole-rat. Sam could not deny her requests when she looked at him with those eyes. He also did not want a poor helpless animal to die, no matter how funny-looking it was.

"Yeah, we're taking him." Sam said.

Mercedes smiled and kissed his cheek.

"Great," Andrew exclaimed. "Let's get the paperwork. We also have to go through the details of his care."

"My uncle is allergic to cat hair so he adopted Sphynx cats. He told how to care for them." Mercedes said.

As a child when her parents visited her family in France her cousin used to bully and annoy her like a older brother would. Her cousin was deathly afraid of her uncle Jean-Luc's hairless cats because he thought the things would give him a diseases. One summer while everybody visited her grandparents, her uncle brought his two cats along. Mercedes decided to take her revenge and chase her older cousin around the French country home.

The man nodded and led them out of the small room. They walked through the shelter passing caged cats and dogs. Sam felt his heart sink as all the animals looked at him with misery shinning in their beady eyes. He wished he could take each one of them home with them but unfortunately, he could not; animals were not allowed in his apartment complex and their house was still under construction and Mercedes parents had two grown territorial dogs of their own that would not allow a grown dog to share their space. At least Mercedes could keep the cat in the house.

Sam was about to tear his gaze away from all the miserable animals when one pair of black eyes looked at him- in their endless depth pain shone. Sam felt compelled by the basset hound lying on a pillow in a cage- the small guy was shaking as if he was dying from the cold whilst the sun was beating down on the streets of Lima outside. He kneeled before the little guy looking up at him still not taking his head off his paws. Sam was about to stick his finger through the wired fencing so he could gently rub his neck when Andrew's voice stopped him.

"No, don't do that. He has IVDD; long story short it's a disease that targets the spinal chord and causes an insane amount of pain." Andrew said as he walked towards Sam still kneeling before the cage and looking at the white and brown big-eared dog staring at him in pain. "We wish we could help him but we just don't have the resources to pay the vet for surgery and treatments that will take thousands of dollars so we have no choice but to euthanize him. His previous owners just left him withering in pain in front of our door a few days ago."

Mercedes kneeled down next to Sam cuddling the small cat to her chest. She stuck a finger through the cage and gently rubbed his paw. The dog gave a small cry before licking her finger. Her heart broke at the sight of a living animal in such an amount of pain.

"What if I adopt him and pay for his surgery?"

"Mr. Evans, it will cost thousands of dollars. Are you sure of this?" The redhead asked trying to hide his excitement at the prospect of the dog being put out of its misery and finding a loving home. He tried not to grow attached to every animal that came through the building's doors but it is hard when they look at you with eyes that held so much human emotion in them.

"Yeah," Sam said before questioningly looking at Mercedes who nodded at him.

Mercedes figured the dog would probably be in recovery for a while and their home would be done in three weeks, four tops. So she'd probably not have to take the dog back to her parents' place where he'll get attack by Chester and Shakespeare who were both territorial dogs.

"Yeah, we'll take him." Mercedes said with a small smile.

The man smiled at them and led him to the front desk for paperwork...

* * *

Mercedes and Ella sat in the tranquil garden of the spa, both dressed in their white robes and sipping ice-tea. Ella was getting married tomorrow so Mercedes decided to treat her PA and friend to a relaxing day at the spa while Haru- Ella's fiancé who happened to be a game programmer was teaching Sam game cheats. The two of them and Haru's younger brother with love for all things video game hit it off after Sam and Mercedes arrived in Vegas for the small wedding. She, Sam, Haru's brother and his girlfriend where the only ones there for her friend's chapel wedding.

Mercedes felt bad for her friends. They did not have the support of their families like she and Sam did.

"So, how are things with you and Sam?" Ella asked staring at fish in the pond next to them. "PS, I have to say he is way cuter in person than on photos...and those lips...Mmm, them babies look delicious." The young woman said making Mercedes laugh.

"It's going good." Mercedes said taking a sip of her iced tea. "We adopted a cat and dog from the animal shelter. The dog has IVDD and he went for surgery yesterday. He's going to be in recovery for a few weeks."

"Auw, you're busy expanding your little family." Ella cooed making Mercedes roll her eyes. "So, how are your wedding plans going? You're wedding is only three weeks away." Ella said.

"Good, it's going good. It's small and intimate; only close friends and family." Mercedes said. "The ceremony will take place in front of Lake Erie and the reception in a garden under the stars and lanterns."

"Auw, that sounds so romantic." Ella cooed. After Mercedes sent the wedding invitations, Ella Googled the place out of curiosity and it looked beautiful. "Your wedding is going to be so beautiful."

Mercedes smiled taking a sip of her tea.

"Yeah." Mercedes said. She was excited and could not wait for the wedding to come. The prospect of the honeymoon…well that kinda made her nervous...well the prospect of having sex for the first time and sucking at it made her nervous.

"So, how is it being at home?" Ella asked sipping her tea.

Mercedes sighed. "It's...weird being so idle." Mercedes said. "I'm not used to not working."

"I feel so too. We have never been so inactive before. If it is not TV shows or performances, it is a new album. It's so strange...and boring."

"It is at times." Mercedes said. When she was not with Sam ...she was bored. She needed to get into the hang of not being busy all the time

"But at least you'll have little Samcedes babies to keep you busy soon." Ella said. "Haru and I aren't really kid people so I need to find a hobby or something to keep me busy."

"So, when are you going to start having kids? Are you going to wait a few years after you're married or are you going to try directly after the wedding?" Ella asked. She knew Mercedes wanted a big family since she was an only child.

That was a very touchy topic for Mercedes. They did not tell anybody about the endometriosis except for their parents. Even though her doctor said, the endometriosis was not severe and did not leave behind scaring, Mercedes was still afraid of the chance that she will have trouble baring a child. What if she and Sam tried having children and she ended infertile.

"Uhm...we don't know yet, we're just going to see what happens." Mercedes said.

Ella spent enough time with Mercedes to know something was wrong at the sight of the tight smile she gave and small sigh before she spoke which were tell signs that something was wrong.

"What is wrong?"

"Nothing-"

"Mercedes, I'm not just your assistant, I'm your friend; you know you can tell me what's wrong?"

Mercedes gave the woman a small grateful smile.

"I know." Mercedes said but this was an intimate sensitive detail of her and Sam's relationship and unlike her friends, she did not feel the need to share intimate sensitive details with the world. Yeah back in the day Glee club was about sharing your problems and leaning on the support of your friends...but she was a grown up now and she felt that not every problem should be put out for public consumption. "-and I appreciate your concern but this is something between me and Sam and I need you to respect that."

Ella sighed but agreed to leave the matter but not before saying;

"If it's serious, you'll tell me, right."

"Yeah, I will. Now enough about me this weekend is all about you and Haru," Mercedes said changing the subject.

The rest of the afternoon was filled with girl talk and giggles between massages and spa pamper sessions.

* * *

After the brief chapel wedding ceremony the happy couple disappeared into their hotel room a few hours ago leaving their four wedding guest to their own devices. Sam and Mercedes went back to their suite for a short rest before exploring The Las Vegas Strip later that night.

Sam was in one of his creative moods sitting on the bed legs crossed and drawing with the pen he stole from Mercedes handbag and the back of a strip club pamphlet some silicone-breasted girl pushed into his hands with a wink. Mercedes-, who was busy admiring the creative recycled creations of nearby street vendor, saw the girl wink at her fiancé with a seductive smile on her face. She was about to make her way over to the two to tell the girl off when the vendor stopped her from making her dramatic appearance by reminding her she had to pay for glass heart she had in her hands.

Sam laughed as Mercedes sent the pamphlet giving raven-haired Barbie doll death glares over her shoulder as he led her away. She was tempted to aim the glass heart at her chest to see if the broken shards would deflate the balloons on her chest.

Mercedes looked out the big glass windows from the bed next to Sam to see the sun still a hour or so away from kissing the horizon and disappearing only to have the moon replace it. That's when life really began in Vegas. Mercedes did a few shows in Vegas before and she always loved walking through the streets at night under the glow of lights. She liked watching average Joes turn into street performers at night to make a quick buck. She loved the atmosphere of fun and happiness of the city.

Since the sun was still an hour away from setting and Sam was not giving her enough attention, she decided to get him back for distracting her with his seduction whilst she was on the phone with Rachel a few weeks ago. She crawled to his back and looked over his should deliberately fanning his ear with her breath as she spoke.

"Whatcha drawing?" She asked.

Sam shrugged totally immune to what she was trying to do.

"It's the Goblin from the Spiderman comics."

Mercedes rolled her eyes.

 _'Of course Sam would be too busy geeking out to notice her getting frisky.'_

Mercedes determined to put him through the same torture he put her through. She slipped her hand down the front of his shirt down his chest feeling the warm skin against her palm. She snaked her free arm around his waist under his white t-shirt feeling the ripples on his stomach with her right hand. She felt Sam freeze as she whispered, lips touching his ear: "That's cool," her voice husky and low. She gently kissed the side of his neck as she ran she brought her left hand lower and lower down his front.

"Mer-Mercedes, what are you doing?" He hoarsely asked.

Mercedes smiled before liking a patch of skin and marking him with her teeth as he has done countless times before. She heard him give a small gasp.

"Am I distracting you?" She asked with fake innocence.

Sam groaned as Mercedes drew circles around his bellybutton her thumb roaming under his low-rise jeans. She kissed the side of his neck

"Yeah, you are." Sam said realizing the game she was playing. He slid out of her grasp. He grabbed both her wrist and pinned her down the bed leaning over her with a sexy grin. He flipped the tables on her and kissed down her neck making her wither under him

"Sam, let me go." She said trying to escape his hold.

Sam made himself comfortable on top of her resting his knees on either side of her waist, his one hand still pinned her arms together above her head. His free hand was roaming her side. He leaned down pressing his lips to her jaw whispering:

"Make me," before he started tickling her.

Mercedes squirmed under him trying to get him off her. She tried keeping in her laughter and show Sam she was not enjoying this but she could not help it. His fingers tickled her waist.

"Sam, don't do that!" She cried trying to escape his eager fingers. Her stomach was starting to get sore and she was turning breathless.

Sam grinned down at her but did not stop his assault.

"Who's your daddy?" Sam asked.

Mercedes tried giving him a 'wtf' look but failed due to his tickle attack.

"Who's your daddy?" Sam asked again.

"You are!" She cried. "You're my daddy!"

Sam stopped tickling her and rolled off her. He lied next to her watching her catch her breath with a soft smile on her face. She looked beautiful; hair ruffled, gentle rays of the setting sun bathing her warm chocolate skin in its glow and happiness illuminating from her soul. She was a remarkable sight.

The moment, however, was broken when she sat up and hit him in the face with a pillow.

"You're such a weirdo." She said.

Sam smiled sitting up next to her and guiding her into his crossed lap. She put her arm around his neck playing with the short hairs brushing the back of his neck.

"You're the one who agreed to marry this weirdo...actually you're the one who asked me to marry you first."

"I did it out of pity."

Sam pressed his palm to his chest pretending that her words hurt.

"Fine if that's how you feel about me maybe I'll go take a look at that strip club-"

Mercedes pinched the back of his neck before he could continue his sentence. In retaliation, he pinched her back.

"Did you just pinch my ass?" She asked with a small squeak.

"You pinched me first."

"You don't pinch a person's ass, Sam. That is sexual harassment." Mercedes said disapprovingly.

"What about a few seconds ago when you feeling me up? Is that sexual harassment too?" Sam asked raising a brow.

Mercedes pretended not to know what he was talking about.

"I have no idea what you're talking about. You must have me confused with someone else."

Sam rolled his eyes before giving her a devious grin.

"I would refresh your memory but I'm afraid then you would not be leaving this room a virgin."

Mercedes could feel warmth making its way through her neck and cheeks. As a ploy to conceal her blush, she rolled her eyes and got off Sam.

"You are such a dirty, dirty boy." Mercedes said.

He grinned up at her leaning back against the headboard with mischievous eyes saying: 'You know you love it' and trying to look sexy...if only...

Rather than looking sexy, Sam misjudged the distance he was from the headboard so when he leaned back there was nothing but air to support his weight making him fall back unto the bed.

"Way to stick the landing there Hugh Hefner. What a sexy pose." Mercedes said sarcastically.

"Whatever, Mercedes," was all her lovable goofball said throwing a pillow her way.

* * *

 **I hope you all enjoyed please review.**

 **PS: There will be a wedding in the next chapter :D**

 **Review=Motivation=Faster Updates**


	15. Chapter 14

**Thank you for the reviews, I'm so happy you all liked the previous chapter…I just hope you all LOVE this one. Reviews are welcomed.**

 **Disclaimer: Glee belongs to its creators and FOX studios. The song 'A Mother's Prayer' belongs to Celine Dion and the people who wrote it.**

* * *

"What if they hate me?" Mercedes asked Santana staring down at her via the small window on her laptop screen as she made herself comfortable against her headboard. Whiskers- who ironically did not have any whiskers, made himself comfortable in her lap purring contently welcoming Mercedes' heat.

'The Samcedes wedding was only a few days away. Their wedding planner was already at the venue and ceremony site making sure everything was right for the wedding and perfecting every detail.

Sam and Mercedes' families were all going to have dinner tomorrow night and Mercedes was not really looking forward to it

"Most of his mom's family already hates me just because my skin color is brown." Mercedes said with sigh. "I'm just not in the mood for more hate. I'm tired of hate, Santana."

Sam said and I quote his father's parent's were 'cool with it.' But just because they seemed to support current times did not mean they liked what was happening in the depth and silence of their hearts. Mercedes just wanted them to fully accept their relationship regardless of their different skin colors.

The Latina woman could relate like nobody's business. She and Britney had two strikes against them, they were a homosexual couple and they were an interracial couple.

"Look, who gives a damn, Wheezy? You and Ken love each other and you're going to be Mrs. Trouty Mouth in few days so other people's opinions don't matter," Santana said with a shrug before deciding to calm her friend's fears with kind words.

Mercedes was the only friend Santana had who did not constantly work on her nerves like Berry or Lady Hummel. Mercedes just got her; she never pushed too far, she never wanted too much. Wheezy was just one of those people who could be friends with anyone and made you feel like you found yourself a short black sister.

"Look if his family was so against him marrying a black girl then I doubt they would have agreed to come to the wedding." Santana said. "And if they don't like you just because you're all brown and chocolaty that's their loss because my awesomeness has rubbed off on you."

Mercedes rolled her eyes and laughed at her friend's vanity.

"Yeah, I guess you're right."

"When am I not?" Santana sang smugly before changing the subject. "So what's the deal with the rat in your arms that strangely reminds me of Sue Sylvester?"

"It's a cat, Santana."

"Is that the lie they told you so you would take it home with you?"

"You are hurting Whiskers' feelings."

"That thing does not even have any whiskers..."

* * *

At first dinner was awkward. Her family and Sam's family had no idea what to say to one another. The only sound in the deafening silence was the scarping of utensils on plates. As dinner progressed, though more conversation progressed. Half an hour later, the French (her mother's side of the family) and Americans (her father's and Sam's side of the family) were laughing. And sharing embarrassing childhood story of the bride and the groom who were not very impressed.

Sam father's side of the family seemed very mellow and chilled. They were apprehensive at first but as dinner progressed, skin color was forgotten and the sadistic love for embarrassing stories brought two race and two countries together.

Mercedes was so glad that dinner was a success and there were not any racial slurs or fights breaking out, as she feared. She was so glad there was no suffocating tension in the air anymore. She sent the Lord a thank you as she and Sam slipped away from the table. The two lovers shared a few kisses under the dark sky before joining their families.

* * *

Mercedes walked through the garden of the expensive Ladenburg hotel. The dark garden illumined by lanterns between the flowerbeds and bushes. The full moon bathed the dark earth in its white light. Mercedes walked over to one of the wooden benches and sat down. She wrapped the sweatshirt tighter around her body as the cool night air gently blew around her. She took a deep breath as she stared at the black water of the pond in front of her. She bit her lip.

She was getting married tomorrow...

She was getting married tomorrow and it terrified her.

No, she did not have cold feet or pre-wedding jitters; it was not the ceremony that scared the crap out of her...it was the wedding night. Mercedes tried for weeks to ignore her anxieties about the wedding night. But she could no more; she was getting married tomorrow and she was going to have sex for the first time.

She did Google a few things to calm her anxiety but she would always somehow end up on porn sites. Mercedes even skimmed through the sex position book Santana gifted her for her bridal showers a few days ago. The thing did not give any answers for her questions.

She did not know who to talk to about her concerns when it came to sex. She and her mother were close and she wanted to talk to her mother about it but she did not know how to bring it up. In addition, she felt like an awkward teenager just thinking of approaching her mother.

What if she sucked at it and it end up a disaster. What if he didn't like what he saw? What if it hurts so bad she can't go through with it until the end?

Mercedes groaned as the thoughts made her way through her head.

"Why do you sound like Simba?" She heard a voice ask behind her.

Mercedes looked up to see Sam's mother walking towards her..

Mercedes painted a smile on her face.

"Hey, Mrs. Evans what are you doing out here?" Mercedes asked as the woman sat down next to her.

The small blonde woman pulled her coat tighter around her.

"Dwight and I had a small disagreement so I decided to leave the room before I commit murder."

Mercedes laughed.

"What are you doing here; shouldn't you be resting? You have a long day tomorrow."

"Oh, I'm just ...thinking." Mercedes said.

"About?"

Mercedes could not say 'doing the deed with your son', now could she?

"Uhm...stuff."

Mary Evans raised a brow before a look of enlightenment struck on her face.

"Oh...those stuff."

Mercedes' face was on fire.

"You know if you need to talk about it...I was a virgin once upon a time-"

"It is okay, Mrs. Evans-" Mercedes quickly interjected.

"Stop with this _'Mrs. Evans_ ' nonsense in a few hours you'll be my daughter in-law. Like I said, if you need to talk about I am here. I know it can be scary but sharing those fears with someone can relieve some of the fear and stress. Pretend I am not Sam's mother for a few seconds. Pretend I am just a normal woman with no tags like 'mom', or 'wife'. I'm just Mary for a few seconds."

Mercedes took a deep breath. Before she could comprehend what was happening the words left her mouth:

"What if I do something wrong...what if he doesn't like doing it...with me?"

After the words left her mouth, Mercedes prayed for the earth to swallow her whole. Before she bask in her embarrassment any further Sam's mother spoke.

"Sam knows you have never taken that step with anybody so I doubt he is going expect anything of you. Sex...well, anybody can have sex but the act of making love, that is intimacy that can't be explained. Do not go into it over-thinking your actions, just do what you feel is right in that moment with your partner. Trust your gut and trust your partner."

Mercedes let the words sink in for a few minutes. Both women sat in silence under the glow of the white moon.

"That-" Mercedes began slowly. "-is probably the most awkward conversation I have ever had in my life."

Mary chuckled.

"It did make you feel better, didn't it?"

Mercedes looked at the frail blonde woman and nodded with a small smile painted on her lips.

"Yeah, it did. Thank you."

Mary hugged the girl before standing up and excusing herself to her hotel room.

"Get some sleep."

* * *

Mercedes Jones was not a shy person. As a child, she basked in attention. She performed in sold out shows worldwide. So why was she currently hyperventilating about the fact that she'd be walking down the aisle in front of 83 pair of eyes?

"Baby girl, breathe." She heard her father say next to her.

All her bridesmaids were currently walking down the aisle leaving only her father and her behind in the waiting lounge.

Mercedes looked at the first man she has ever loved feeling tears swell up in her eyes. This would be the last moment she would spend with her father as Mercedes Jones. It was overwhelming. Today was overwhelming. She felt happy. She felt nostalgic. She felt anxious...she felt a mix of emotions and it was making her emotional. All she wanted to do was cry for some unknown reason beyond her.

"Daddy...I'm going to be somebody's wife." Mercedes whispered.

Her father gave her a small sad smile before kissing her forehead.

"I know," he whispered. "It felt like yesterday when you prancing around the house in your diaper causing havoc. You grew up too fast. I can't call you my baby girl anymore-" his voice turning thick with emotion. "-you're going to be somebody's wife. You are all grown up. I am not your superhero anymore. I can't kiss away your booboos anymore."

Mercedes hugged her father blinking away tears.

"I'll always be your baby girl, Daddy." She whispered. Her father tightened his hold on her and just as he was about to respond Traci, the wedding planner, walked in.

"I hate to ruin this beautiful moment but it's almost your cue." The brunette said handing Mercedes' a tissue from her black dress' pocket.

Mercedes thanked and her and carefully dabbed away stray tears thanking the heavens for waterproof make up or else she'd look like she just survived a ship wreck. She threw the tissue in a nearby bin before turning to her father.

"You look beautiful." He said smiling at her before lifting the sheer white veil over her face.

"Catch me if I fall?"

"Always."

They followed the wedding planner down the narrow passages of the building leading them a closed door in the foyer. Traci handed her the bouquet of yellow tulips and astrantias mixed with white ranunculus Japanese anemones bound together with a pale green ribbon.

Mercedes could hear the violins, cello and piano starting the song she was going to walk down the isle to. She could hear her grandmother's voice, making her smile.

Mercedes definitely inherited her love for music from her grandmother. As a child when she visited her grandparents the classically trained French woman would teach her how to read music and play the piano and violin. She spent hours listening to her grandmother singing the songs of her favorite singers. That is where Mercedes' love for the classic song divas like Aretha, Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holliday and Etta James grew.

Since the classic Mendelssohn's wedding march was dated, her grandmother wanted to serenade her whilst she walked down the aisle. Mercedes recognized the song and could feel tears of happiness swell in her eyes.

 _I pray You'll be my eyes_

 _And watch her where she goes_

 _And help her to be wise_

 _Help me to let go_

 _Every mother's prayer_

 _Every child knows_

 _Lead her to a place_

 _Guide her with Your Grace_

 _To a place where she'll be safe_

As Traci opened the doors, Mercedes tightened her hold on her father's arm. She shifted her gaze down feeling what felt like a million pair of eyes on her. The sheer veil did nothing much to cover her face. She looked at the river of yellow rose petals on either side of the aisle before lifting her gaze to the white wooden chairs the guest were standing in front of decorated with mint ribbons and yellow sunflowers. Mercedes lifted her gaze to the arch of green leaves decorated with a variety of white and yellow hydrangeas, roses and daisies at the end of the aisle.

She then looked at her Santana, Stacy and Britney clothed in their one-shoulder mint green knee length chiffon dresses each clutching a bouquet of lemon colored calla lilies. Mercedes' gaze then moved to Rachel and Tina clad in pale yellow long sweetheart chiffon dresses clutching their own bouquets of white calla lilies.

Mercedes expected the tears running down Tina's cheeks- everything made Tina cry, but she did not expect Santana wiping away stray tears like a proud mother. Before Mercedes could giggle at her usually, impassive friend whose pregnancy was messing with her hormones, her father took a step forward reminding her that this was not the time to do some sight seeing.

As she walked, she looked down at the grass aisle she was walking on, feeling the clutches of anxiety suffocating her once again.

 _'This can not be happening now.'_

She took a deep breath before lifting her head and looking at Sam for the first time. Her heart skipped a beat when she saw him under the arch of fresh yellow and white flowers in his slim fit pale grey linen suit decorated with a white rose and yellow orchard boutonnière and mint bowtie that Blaine definitely inspired. He looked handsome with his short blonde hair brushed up and a small smile painted on his as he basked in the glow of the afternoon sunlight.

 _I hope she finds Your Light_

 _And hold it in her heart_

 _As darkness falls each night_

 _Remind her where You are_

Mercedes could feel the anxiety disappear as she looked at the sight before her. She had no idea why she left so nervous before. This was Sam...her Sam and she had no reason to feel anything but pure bliss on the day she was going to marry her (as cheesy as it sounds) soul mate. She smiled, not taking her eyes off him as her father led her towards the person she was going to spend the rest of her life with.

 _Every mother's prayer_

 _Every child knows_

 _Need to find a place_

 _Guide her with Your Grace_

 _Give her faith so she'll be safe_

Mercedes reached the end of the aisle where Sam was waiting for her. She quickly handed her bouquet to a bawling Tina before her father kissed her hands tears swelling in his eyes, and placed her right hand in Sam's.

 _Lead her to a place_

 _Guide her with Your Grace_

 _To a place where she'll be safe_.

As the music died down, he lifted the veil covering her face. He took a few seconds to appreciate the vision in front him. She looked breathtaking. Sam has seen Mercedes in hundreds of dresses covered in glitter and sparkles and yeah she looked beautiful in them but to him she has never looked more beautiful than she looked in this moment standing in front of him in a sweetheart ivory dress covered in a lace bodice and jeweled belt around her waist. It was her natural beauty that demanded attention, not the dress.

She gave him a shy smile before looking at the retired pastor who asked everybody to close their eyes and bow their heads so he could lead them into prayer. Sam held onto her hands tightly and closed his eyes as the man asked God to bless the ceremony.

"Dearly beloved, we have come together in the presence of God to witness and bless the joining together of this man and this woman in Holy Matrimony-"

Mercedes could hear her mom say 'Amen' causing a small chuckle under the guest before the man continued.

"The bond and covenant of marriage was established by God in creation, and our Lord Jesus Christ adorned this manner of life by His presence and first miracle at the wedding in Cana of Galilee. The union of husband and wife is intended by God of their mutual joy; for the help and comfort given each other in prosperity and adversity; and, when it is God's will, for the procreation of children and their nurture in the knowledge and love of the Lord. Therefore marriage is not to be entered into lightly but reverently, deliberately and in accordance with the purposes for which it was instituted by God."

The man looked at his granddaughter. "Into this union Mercedes Arielle Jones and-" he moved his gaze to Sam. "-Samuel Dwight Evans now come to be joined." The man then looked at the guest. "If any of you can show just cause why they may not be lawfully wed speak now or else forever hold your peace."

They waited for a few seconds only greeted with silence. The pastor looked at Mercedes as he spoke. "Mercedes, will you have this man to be your husband; to live together with him in the covenant of marriage? Will you love him, comfort him, honor and keep him, in sickness and in health; and forsaking all others, be faithful unto him as long as you both shall live?"

Mercedes looked at Sam and smiled at him before answering: "I will."

Her grandfather then turned to Sam.

"Samuel, will you have this woman, my granddaughter to be your wife; to live together with her in the covenant of marriage? Will you love her, comfort her, honor and keep her, in sickness and in health; and forsaking all others, be faithful unto her as long as you both shall live? Think carefully because me and The Man upstairs have a strong bond so if you don't I can arrange for a very painful existence."

Everybody laughed. Once the laughter died down Sam replied, "I will."

The retired pastor looked at the guest as he asked; "Will all of you witnessing these promises do all in your power to uphold these two persons in their marriage?"

"We will." They chorused.

"Who gives this woman to be married to this man?"

Mercedes father stood up from the front seat next to his wife and Sam's parents.

"She gives herself with the blessing of her mother and father." He wiped away stray tears before sitting down.

Mercedes grandfather nodded before announcing that the bride and groom were now going to do their vows.

Mercedes took a deep breath holding onto Sam's large right hand and holding the microphone with her left hand. She looked into his beautiful green eyes forgetting that she was in front of a bunch of people. In that moment, it was only them.

"Who would have thought I would be standing here in front of all these people and God about to marry the blonde dorky teenager I met years ago in Glee club. If you told me that nine years ago I would have laughed in your face...take a sip of water and catch my breath before continuing laughing." Sam grinned at her. "But God works in mysterious ways doesn't He?" She asked before turning serious. "You're my best friend, Sam. You're my biggest supporter, you're my rock to lean on-" Mercedes could feel those pesky tears burn her eyes as she recited the vows she's memorized by heart. "So many people walk this earth without knowing how it feels to truly love somebody or to be truly loved by someone. I thank God for blessing me with you because it was not luck that led you to my door; it was God. I love you with every part of my being, Sam. I can't express in words what you make me feel." She said giving up on trying to control her tears. "You're it for me. I will never ever be able to love any man as much as I love you. I will never be able to share my heart, my fears or my hopes with anybody like I share them with you. Today I make a promise before God to spend the rest of my life faithful to you. I will spend the rest of my life with you from this day forward, in good times and in bad times, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health as long as I breathe."

Sam took a deep breath before swallowing the lump in his throat. He was not going to cry like a little baby. He promised himself that he was not going to cry like a baby as his mother and mother in-law were now currently doing. Sam wrote his vows down to make sure he didn't forget the important things but he decided to wing it and just talk from his heart leaving his vows tucked in his jacket's pocket.

"I love you so much that I sometimes can't breathe and my heart feels like it wants to explode...it's intense." He said. "I'm not good with words; I'm no Shakespeare or that Edgar Po guy so I'm just going to speak from the heart without any metaphors or other poetic devices. I love you, point blank. I have never felt the way I feel with you in my life before. I love your smile, I love the way your eyes light up when you are happy. I love your smart remarks. I love the sound of you voice. I love it when you sing. I love how you feel in my arms. I love that you always seem to smell like apples and lilies. I just love you and I want to spend every single morning of my life waking up next to you...You just get me, Mercedes. You get me like nobody else ever will. Everything just feels right with you. You make the most borings tasks fun. You laugh at my dorky, quirky jokes. You spend hours watching Sci-Fi movies with me even though you have no idea what's actually going on. You are my person, and yeah I totally just quoted Meredith Grey from Grey's Anatomy, but it's true. You are my person and I believe with my heart and soul that God made us for one another. I also believe with my heart and soul that we are going to have a beautiful long life together because like Matthew 19 verse 6 says; _'Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate._ ' No force on the face of this earth will ever make me not love you." He smiled at her. "I promise to always be your person. I promise to be there and love you when life is easy and when it gets hard."

Surprisingly it wasn't Mercedes who had a dam of tears flowing from her eyes and sobbing but rather their mothers, Tina (of course) and (shockingly) Santana who whispered 'damn you Trouty Mouth for messing with my fragile hormones' . Rachel and Stacy were busy blinking away tears.

Mercedes' grandfather handed her tissue so she could wipe her eyes and cheeks dry. Mercedes dropped her gaze knowing if she kept on looking into Sam's loving eyes that a fresh set of tears were going to make an appearance. Once most of the woman, and Kurt, finally dried their tears her grandfather continued the ceremony and asked Stevie, the best man, for the rings.

"Bless, O Lord, these rings as a symbol of the vows by which this man and this woman have bound themselves to each other; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen."

Sam slipped the ring on Mercedes' ring finger as he repeated after the pastor:

"I give you this ring as a symbol of my love, and with it all that I am, and all that I have, I honor you in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit."

Mercedes placed the ring on Sam's finger repeating after her grandfather:

"I give you this ring as a symbol of my love, and with it all that I am, and all that I have, I honor you in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit."

The brown man then joined their hands together.

"Now that Mercedes and Samuel have given themselves to each other by solemn vows and the giving and receiving of rings, I pronounce that they are husband and wife in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Those, whom God has joined together, let no one put asunder."

He let go of their hands and asked the guest to stand to recite the Lord's Prayer. The couple bowed their heads and prayed:

"Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy Name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, for thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever, Amen."

Mercedes smiled at Sam as her grandfather asked the guest to sit. Sam gave her a breathtaking grin of his own before looking back at the pastor who was now blessing them:

God The Father, God The Son, God The Holy Spirit, blesses, preserves and keeps you; the Lord mercifully with His favor looks upon you, and fills you with all spiritual benediction and grace; that you may fully live together this life and in the age to come have life everlasting, Amen."

He then took both their hand in his.

"Mercedes and Samuel having witnessed your vows of love to one another, it is my joy to present you to all gathered here as Mr. and Mrs. Sam Evans." He turned to Sam who was smiling brightly. "You may now kiss your-"

Nobody had to tell Sam twice; before the French man could complete the sentence Sam's lips were on those of his wife kissing her with every fiber of his being and not caring about her dislike for PDA. In the background, her heard laughter at his behavior but in that moment he could care less...

* * *

Blinding sunlight flooded through her once closed eyelids forcing her awake from her slumber. She gave a low groan as she shielded her eyes from the morning sun with her arm. She could feel her heavy bladder needing the bathroom but she was in no mood to get up from her position. She lied there for a few more minutes trying her best to ignore Sam's arm heavily resting around her and putting presure on her full bladder. Mercedes gave another low groan realizing she could not ignore her body's needs no matter how hard she tried.

She forced her unwilling eyes open and blinked a few times as they adjusted to the light before her gaze fell on the beautiful sight resting a few inches from her. She drank in the sight of a sleeping Sam mouth slightly agape, unruly blonde hair standing in different directions and naked torso bathed in the ethereal glow of the sun. Mercedes smiled as a soft sigh left his parted lips.

Her mind wandered back to the previous night filled with soft sighs, low groans and mouths dancing together in perfect harmony. At first, she was terrified when she walked into the hotel suite she and Sam would be sharing as husband and wife. Her heart was pounding in her chest her palms were sweaty. She excused herself to the bathroom trying to collect her thoughts and calm her beating heart. After giving herself a pep talk for 10 minutes in the mirror she left the bathroom to find Sam sitting on the bed, taking off his shoes with the same anxiety written on his face. She sat down next to him taking off her shoes before taking out all the hairpins and accessories in her hair. They sat there in silence for a few minutes both uncharacteristically shy before Sam broke the silence:

 _'Why are we acting awkward?_ ' he asked making her shrug her shoulders before he gently pressed his palms to her cheeks and guided her face closer to his. He kissed her.

Slowly the need and want for one another overtook their bodies and before they both knew it, Sam was hovering above her, shirt discarded on the floor as he kissed her.

She could remember the pain and Sam whispering apologies in her ear.

She lost herself in the memory of her senses filled with Sam. She lost herself in the memory of her uncertain fingers running over his bare warm skin. She remembered his trained hands marking the previously uncharted territory of her body. Bodies danced in harmony. Limbs tangled ivory and ebony. It was amazing.

Mercedes gently pried Sam's arm off her careful not wake him. Rather then letting go Sam tightened his hold on her and pulled her closer. He groaned in the side of her neck.

"Why is it so bright in here?" Sam groaned. Mercedes bit her lip as his gruff sexy voice met her ears. "Mercedes, tell the sun to go to sleep." Sam complained tightening his arms around her stomach.

Mercedes chuckled slightly as she ran her fingers through his wild hair.

"I don't have any authority over the sun, Sam. You'll have to lay that request before God."

She could feel him smile against her collarbone.

"You'll need to get off me now, Sam. I need to use the bathroom."

Sam groaned like a small child sent to bed early.

"No."

Mercedes rolled her eyes.

"Come on Sam, I need to pee."

"..."

"...Sam."

"Fine but you come right back, you hear."

"No, I plan on first running a few laps around the garden in my birthday suit," Mercedes said sarcastically.

"You know what, Mrs. Smart Mouth-"

"-that you love so much. You said you love my smart sassy mouth; I have it on video."

Sam chuckled letting go of her and giving her the opportunity to sit up. Mercedes groaned stretching her stiff limbs before getting up and relieving herself of the pressure in her bladder. She did feel insecure prancing around naked but she shrugged it off; Sam did not have any complaints about her body last night and he was going to be spending the rest of his life waking up to her body besides his so why hide? Mercedes entered the room again to find him sitting up straight running a hand through his messy hair. He picked up his phone from the side table to check the time as Mercedes lied down under the light white covers next to him.

"Our flight doesn't leave until one so I still have ample time to do this," Sam pulled her closer and rolled her beneath him. He kissed her jaw before kissing down her neck to her collarbone and chest.

Mercedes closed her eyes enjoying his soft pillow like lips on her skin.

"Where are we going?" Mercedes asked.

Sam has been secretive about the honeymoon destination he was sweeping her off to. In all honesty, Mercedes could care less where they were going. As long as there was a bed and she could spend hours tangled up with Sam in said bed she was okay with wherever they were going.

"That's a secret." Sam whispered against her neck before straddling her and looking into her big brown eyes.

"I love you." He whispered his eyes betraying the truth behind those words.

Mercedes blinked away tears and swallowed the lump in her throat before repeating the sentiment. She gently kissed him wrapping her arms around his neck...

* * *

Mercedes groaned as she followed behind her husband. She shrieked for the third time in the last ten minutes when she felt something crawling on her leg. The insect flew away before Mercedes could kill it. It seems that all the islands creepy crawlies seemed to think she was some kind of blood bank whilst they left Sam in peace. Mercedes could feel strange itchy lumps all over her exposed legs making her regret her choice of bermuda shorts and a polo shirt for the extreme heat. It seems that the entire bottle of insect repellent she sprayed on (and nearly suffocated to death on) proved useless.

Sam stopped and smiled at his dramatic wife (he loved using that word) who was busy being her dramatic self.

"You're the one who said you wanted to explore the island." Sam said smartly as he readjusted the backpack with their picnic necessity in it on his shoulders.

Mercedes shot him a dirty look but could not deny it...

 _It started Sam's kisses awoke her from her mid afternoon sleep. She was exhausted. Sam was exhausting her. The first thing they did after Sam booked them into the resort on the island of St Lucia in the Caribbean was throw their clothes to the floor and make love. They have not left the confinement of their room since they arrived on the island two days ago. The only human contact they had with any other person was when they order food._

 _"Sam, I wanna sleep." Mercedes groaned refusing to open her eyes._

 _Sam ignored her and kept on kissing her. It is not that she was not enjoying Sam's undivided attention- cause she really did. Her body though was not used to all this...'activity'._

 _Mercedes could feel his warm skin against hers, gave up the fight, and gave into her hormonal urges._

 _"You do-do realize we haven't left this room in two days." Mercedes said._

 _Sam looked down at her giving her a coy smile._

 _"I'm just making up for lost time." Sam said with a grin._

 _Mercedes rolled her eyes. "Let's get out of this room. I think our bodies need a day of rest."_

"Whatever Sam." Mercedes said. "When I suggested we explore what the island had to offer I meant go to a restaurant, chill on the beach, swim with dolphins and buy a few souvenirs to take home. I didn't mean we should hike through the jungle and offer me to all these bloodsucking insects as a human sacrifice." Mercedes complained as she rubbed the lump on her elbow.

"You're just too delicious for your own good." Sam joked as he pulled away a branch full of leafs blocking the hiking trail for her. Mercedes was not amused- he was not the one losing half of his blood volume.

"Are you going to engrave that on my tombstone when I die of some killer tropical virus these insects have given me?" Mercedes said as Sam interlocked their fingers whilst he led her up the hiking trail.

Sam laughed at her.

"Sam, do you know where we are going?" Mercedes asked. They have been hiking to a waterfall for about thirty minutes now.

"The guy said we just have to follow the path. It must lead somewhere."

"You know this path can lead to a village of cannibals, right?"

He grinned at her.

"Then I will rip off my shirt and act all Tarzan-like to protect you until my last dying breath. No Hannibal Lector is ever gonna hurt my bride."

Mercedes giggled (yeah she giggled like an in love schoolgirl). She smiled up at him as he wrapped his arm around her making her sling her arm around his waist. They silently walked down the paths and green foliage surrounding them. The pungent smell of vegetation surrounded them. The tall tropical trees protected them against the harsh glaring sun.

After six more minutes of walking Mercedes gave another dramatic and tired sigh.

"Sam-" before she could start complaining Sam interrupted her.

"Can you hear that? It's running water." Sam said.

She shut up and heard the flow of water. She could also smell it too. They continued their trek on the path, trees gradually disappearing around them until they drowned in warmth from the burning sun unprotected by the shade of the trees. The sunlight momentarily blinded them both before their gazes fell on the water flowing over the rocks as it fell from above. The waterfall led into a pool of crystal blue water.

"See no cannibals in sight." Sam said smugly as he led her to a big bolder.

"They are waiting in the bushes to ambush us once our guard in down." She said as Sam put the backpack down on the grass next to the bolder before sitting down and taking off his shoes.

"Sure they are, Mercedes." Sam said as he pulled his shirt over his head, his ivory toned torso greeting her. Mercedes had to admit, she did good when she picked him. Seriously, her husband was handsome and toned...and just...too hot for his own good. She could not help but smile when she felt tingles after she said the word husband.

Sam did not notice his wife silently examining him and jumped into the cool water. He resurfaced wiping his eyes and looked at Mercedes expectantly who was still standing on the rocks fully clothed.

"Aren't you going to come in for a dip?"

"Are you gonna teach me some of your synchronized swimming moves?" Mercedes asked pulling the polo shirt over her head revealing the white swimming costume she had on underneath her clothes.

Sam gave a sarcastic laugh and splashed her with water. Sam lifted his arm in the air and shouted 'Take it off. Take it off.' as Mercedes unzipped her pants.

"Somebody is feeling mature today."

He smirked at her with a wink.

"Is it cold?" She asked.

"Why don't you come find out?"

Mercedes rolled eyes before jumping in to the pool of water. Once she resurfaced, she swam towards Sam. Mercedes wrapped her arm around Sam's neck and kissed him. His cool skin and water felt heavenly against her skin. She gently kicked her legs back and fro under the water as Sam rested pressed his nose against hers.

"So was the long hike worth it?"

"Yeah, yeah but it's not worth me dying of some killer virus though."

Sam grinned.

"Like I said you're just too irresistible for your own good."

Mercedes rolled her eyes. She looked into his green magnificent eyes losing herself in their beauty. The humid warm air turned thick with intimacy. Sam kissed her gently and whispered an 'I love you' against her parted lips. She smiled and kissed him again. He was like gravity to her and she was helpless to his pull….

* * *

 **Mercedes' wedding dress you can Google: Alvina Valenta 9551. If the dress doesn't do it for imagine something different :).**

 **I really hoped you all enjoyed this chapter and I also hope it was worth the ridiculously long 14 chapter wait ;). The wedding scene was hard to write because of all the details and emotions...I had to wing it...and I had to wing it hard since I have never been to a wedding in my 19 years and exactly 7 days on this earth. Anyhow, I hope I did an okay job and did not disappoint with the wedding scene.**

 **Review?**


	16. Chapter 15

**Oh-em-gee! Thank you for all your reviews, I'm so glad you all enjoyed the previous chapter. Thanks for all the belated birthday wishes as well; they mean a lot**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Glee's characters or Call of Duty. If I did, I'd be rich enough to own a yacht… I do not have a yacht**

* * *

Sam rummaged through the cabinets of his kitchen in search of a midnight snack to tame the beast known as 'midnight cravings'. Upstairs his wife of five weeks was sleeping.

They returned home from their honeymoon a week ago and they were still on each other like bunnies in mating season. They completed each other spiritually, mentally and physically. Sex was not just a lustful act of satisfaction anymore; with Mercedes it actually meant something. He was actually making love for the first time in his life.

In his search, he woke Chuck Norris who was sleeping in his paw shape doggy bed. He realized Yoda, as Sam sometimes called Mercedes' cat that reminded him of the Jedi Master, was not in his bed either. Sam shrugged it off figuring the cat was probably exploring the house. The cat was known for wandering off and reappearing like a magician.

Sam grabbed a variety of unhealthy salty snacks before gently picking the dog up who was still going through physically therapy after his operation a few weeks ago. Sam went downstairs to the basement where his man cave filled with Sci-Fi, sporting memorabilia and electronic toys stood proudly. His basement was a man's dream: a massive TV, a bookcase filled with collector's comic books. He had hundreds of different videogames, a pool table and his own gym.

Sam pressed the light switch with his elbow carefully balancing the dog and food against his naked torso. The cream painted room flooded with light. He found Mercedes' cat curled on his ab bench in the little corner of the room where all his exercise equipment stood. The undercover mole-rat jumped off the machine and walked over towards Sam and Chuck Norris resting on the couch. Even though he still creeped him out at times, Sam could not deny that the naked rat grew on him.

Sam sat down on the black leather sofa. He gently placed the basset hound on his lap before turning on the big television and starting the video game. Sam opened a packet of beef jerky placing a piece on his boxers so Chuck could enjoy some as well. Whiskers, not wanting to be left out of the buffet purred rubbing his skin against Sam's legs and lifting his large ears upright wagging his tail. He jumped on Sam's lap next to Chuck staring at him with his large amber eyes before rolling over on his back and rubbing his head against Sam's boxers begging Sam to gave him a piece of jerky which he did.

Sam played his video game leaving Chuck and Whiskers to their own devices on his lap. Whiskers being the mischievous cat he was, decided to annoy Chuck Norris by tapping him on his nose repeatedly and jumping off Sam before Chuck could respond.

Sam was so lost in his video game and shooting random zombies he failed to notice Mercedes presence until he heard Whisker's loud meow and felt Chuck whipping the side of his thigh with his tail excitedly.

"Hey, did I wake you when I got up?" Sam asked not taking his eyes of the screen

"Neh, I needed to use the bathroom." Mercedes said crossing her legs and grabbing the Pringles next to Sam.

Chuck wobbled off Sam's lap onto Mercedes. Whiskers, sick of not getting attention from Sam or Chuck, jumped on Mercedes' knee looking at her with his large green eyes trying to guilt her into giving him some too. Mercedes could not deny those eyes so she gave him one.

She watched Sam as he concentrated on the playing the violent game. He bit his lip as he rested his elbows on his thighs pressing random buttons on the controller. Sam cursed when his player died and the words 'GAME OVER' flashed over the screen in red bloody font. Before Sam could restart, the game Mercedes spoke up:

"Teach me to play."

Sam raised a brow.

"You want me to teach you how to play a video game."

Mercedes shrugged gently lifting Chuck Norris off her and placing him on the sofa cushion.

"Yeah, why not? I might as well pick up a few tips in case we ever have a zombie apocalypse." She joked sitting between Sam's open legs resting her back against his chest and stretching her legs out on the wooden coffee table in front of her.

Sam handed her his game controller after adding a new player to the system and starting level one.

Mercedes sucked in video games. The last time she played a videogame was years ago when she was living with Sam in New York. It was on one of those nights when neither of them could fall asleep so he took it upon himself to introduce her to 'the greatest game ever made'- _Call of Duty._ She sucked and died... a lot but it was still fun. More importantly, she saw it meant a lot to Sam having her share one of his interests.

"I will be the first person to die in a zombie apocalypse." Mercedes said ten minutes later as zombies devoured her character's intestines.

 _'The video game was gruesome'_ , Mercedes thought pulling a face as another zombie decapitated the corpse and sucked on its eyeballs.

"Wow, you really suck at this." Sam said behind her.

Mercedes threw him a dirty look over her shoulder slapping away his eager left hand away that was roaming dangerously high up her thigh under her nightgown.

"Well, maybe if you weren't distracting me the whole time I could have done better."

He pretended to be offended.

"Blame it on Sam- typical."

Mercedes rolled her eyes.

"You want me to distract you some more?" Sam whispered hoarsely in her ear before gently sucking on her earlobe.

"Yeah." Mercedes whispered back seductively as Sam took the control from her grasp. They turned off the gaming system and television before making their way upstairs leaving the cat and dog sleeping on the couch.

* * *

Mercedes was 90% sure that she was pregnant. Her suspicion started two nights ago when she searched her bathroom cupboards for her strawberry bubble bath. During her search, she found box of tampons. Mercedes did a quick analysis and realized she was late...very late. The last time she was on her period was two weeks before her wedding; she remembered because that week she had her last check up with Dr Mosley. She was weeks late...how could she not have noticed before?

The next morning after Sam left for school she first called her OBGYN and made an appointment for the next day. After a quick shower, she went to the drug store and brought three different brands of pregnancy test. In total, she pied on six sticks. Four out of six sticks were positive.

She did not want to tell Sam about her hunch until she made sure of it. Therefore, she had to keep in that she suspected there might be a bun in the oven. A small part of her was troubled that things were moving to fast. They just got married and now they were pregnant...well maybe pregnant. They were just adjusting to life as a married couple.

The door opening brought her back to the present. Her doctor walked into the examination room wearing a smile on her face.

"Well, I just got the blood test back and…we're having a baby."

"Sooooo, I'm pregnant. You are 100% sure I'm pregnant?" Mercedes asked slowly placing her hand on her belly.

The woman nodded.

"Yep, you are." Dr Mosley said. "So how about we do a transviginal ultrasound so we can see what's going on in there?" The woman asked pulling a machine towards the bed Mercedes was sitting on. Mercedes lied down the bed as the doctor pulled on her cloves. "Okay, so do you know when your last menstrual cycle was so I can calculate the date of conception."

"Well it ended on 29th or 30th of June. It was exactly two weeks before my wedding. So, according to my calculations about seven weeks ago." Mercedes said looking at the doctor who was covering the ultrasound wand with a condom before she stopped and wrote down what Mercedes said.

"Okay, can you open your legs for me?" Mercedes did as she was asked. "You might feel a little pressure, okay."

Mercedes looked at the ultrasound machine trying to ignore the discomfort.

"You're cycle length?"

"28 days." Mercedes was sure of that. She was a biological clock.

"He's still very small. So, it's gonna be 99% uterus and 1% embryo." The woman said as she used the machine. "You see there?" The doctor asked pointing to the screen. "That right there is the gestational sac. You are little one is busy growing in there. According to my calculations and your test results, you are about five weeks pregnant. Your growing little one is no bigger than a sesame seed at the moment."

Even though the only thing on that screen was just the inside of her womb, Mercedes could not stop the tears burning beneath her eyelids. There was a growing living being inside of her…a little soul God entrusted her with.

She was going to be a mother. She thanked God for the blessing as she wiped away her tears of joy and smiled at the woman.

"Congratulations." The woman said.

* * *

"Sam?" Mercedes shouted as she walked into the front door of their home. She felt utter glee as she imagined their child running around their home one day in nothing but a diaper and causing chaos in their usually neat home.

Chuck Norris and Whiskers -or Pink Yoda as Sam sometimes called him, greeted her at the door wagging their tails as they welcomed her home.

"In the kitchen!" Sam shouted back as Mercedes kicked the door closed behind her.

Mercedes followed the voice to find her husband in the kitchen digging in the fridge and giving her a great view of his derriere as he worked.

"You okay with pizza for dinner?" He asked head still buried in the fridge.

"Yeah, pizza sounds good." Mercedes said placing her bag down before slipping on the kitchen island. Sam closed the fridge doors and walked over to her. He placed a kiss on the tip of her nose before placing the frozen pizza in the oven.

"How was your first day back at school?" Mercedes asked watching him 'prepare dinner'.

Sam shrugged.

"Other than a few annoying freshmen that think they're grown-ups, it was okay. Glee club starts again next week and I was hoping that you would bless us with your presence."

"Will I get paid for this?" Mercedes joked and received a grin from Sam.

Sam made his way over to her standing between her open legs resting his palms on the granite surface and trapping her in his hold

"I don't think you can afford me."

"I can work out other means of payment, Mrs. Evans." He whispered lowly resting his forehead against hers.

Mercedes bit her lip and gently pushed him away before she got distracted from her task. She cleared her throat before pulling the paper bag closer.

"I did some shopping today. I bought the cutest shirts ever." She said as Sam kissed her neck.

"You can show me later," he whispered against her collarbone. He could care less about shirts at the moment.

Mercedes giggled when she felt his tongue tasting her skin. She gently pushed Sam away giving him fake disapproving glare.

"Down boy," She joked making him roll her eyes. She then dug in the bag to show him what she bought.

After her doctor's appointment, she racked her brain for a cute way to tell Sam about the pregnancy. She went to Babies R Us in her search for a cute geeky way to tell her adorkable husband they are expecting and in her search, she found these cute shirts.

She showed Sam the black shirt with the words Player 1 printed on it in pink.

"This is mine." She said before showing Sam the other shirt with the words Player 2 printed on in blue. ."This is yours."

"Okay?" Sam said slowly not understanding where she was going with this as she handed him the shirt.

Mercedes then proceeded to give him the card with Darth Vader holding a bunch of balloons. It was originally a boy's birthday card but Mercedes glued the sonogram on the birthday message on the inside and wrote next to the photo 'YOU ARE MY FATHER.'

Sam raised a brow studying the Darth Vader card before opening it up. Mercedes watched Sam's facial expression change from confusion to surprise and then pure happiness as he studied the card in his hands.

"Surprise," Mercedes whispered with a small smile showing him the black baby onesie with the words 'Player 3' printed in white.

Sam took the onesie from Mercedes staring at it for a few seconds before looking back at her.

"He or she is the size of a sesame seed at the moment so that sonogram is basically just a picture of my uterus-"

"We're having a baby, Mercedes." Sam said his voice thick with emotion. He put the onesie down next to her before placing his hand on her stomach.

"Yeah...we're having a baby." Mercedes said cupping his cheek with her warm palms. "I know this is sudden since we just got married and we haven't really talked about when we wanted to start trying for a fam-"

Before Mercedes could continue, Sam kissed her ever so gently with his hands still on he belly. The kiss, though short, held so much love, happiness and adoration. He pulled away resting his forehead against hers looking at his hands on her belly.

"There's a little growing human in there." He softly said smiling brightly. "Our baby is in there, Mercedes... can you believe it?" He asked awestruck.

He could feel his heart swell in his chest with the love. Love at first sight be damned…his kid has not even fully developed yet and Sam already loved him or her.

She kissed gently kissed him placing her hand on his.

"How far along are you?"

"The doc said I'm about five weeks pregnant. She calculated the date of conception on 15 or 16 July." Mercedes answered.

"Wait a minute." Sam said before pausing for a few seconds. "So you're telling me that I got you pregnant on the first try?" A self-assured smirk painted itself on his face as he looked at her before he announced; "I'm a sperm machine."

"Really, Sam?" Mercedes deadpanned shrugging out of his grasp so she could check on the pizza he popped in the stove. That sounded like something high school Noah Puckerman would say.

"Just like Dory in Finding Nemo my sperm kept on swimming." Sam said behind her.

Mercedes rolled her eyes closing the oven again when she saw the pizza was still frozen. Sam forgot to put the thing on.

"Sam...just no." Mercedes said shaking her head at Sam who was busy basking in his self-praise.

"Little Sammy came. He saw. He concurred."

Mercedes groaned.

"Samuel, grow up."

Sam's arrogant smirk did not leave his face though.

"Babe, I think we both know I'm _very_ grown and skilled," Sam said gesturing to his pelvis as he circled his hips.

Mercedes rolled her eyes as she placed the shirts back into the bag.

"You...just wow," Mercedes said unable to believe that Sam's ego just inflated four times its originally size just because he got her pregnant.

* * *

"I am a legend. When can we start telling people? I need to brag about this."

Mercedes groaned pulling the blanket over her head wishing it would somehow shield her from Sam's arrogance.

"Sam, go to sleep please."

Sam has been riding on a wave of self-praise since Mercedes told him about the pregnancy. The man thought he deserved a medal for impregnating her on her first time.

"I can't I'm just so proud-"

Mercedes gave a sigh and rolled her eyes again- she could feel an approaching headache. The past few hours she has been rolling her eyes repeatedly. All she could do was roll her eyes because Sam's reaction left her flabbergasted. It is as if he thought his member was made out of gold, dipped in diamonds and sprinkled with emeralds.

"My little soldiers did what was needed and they ended up victorious in foreign uncharted land, Mercedes. How can I not be proud?" He asked dramatically.

Mercedes pulled the blanket off her so Sam could see the look she was giving him.

"First of all I'm doing all the hard work here. If anybody deserves an award, it is me. Now go to bed, Samuel."

"Please, I'm the one who had to make the long journey to fertile land. I deserve a medal or something for my bravery and skill," He said with a sly smile before changing his voice. "Millions of soldiers readied for the war knowing only one would be victorious. Now that's bravery"

Mercedes just gave him a WTF look before deciding to go to sleep since this conversation was pointless.

"If you say so."

She felt Sam's arms around her waist ridding up the material of her silk shirt. He kissed her neck...then her shoulder...then between her shoulder blades.

Mercedes knew where this was going and decided to play hard to get.

"No,"

"But-"

"Don't your soldiers need to train or something?" Mercedes asked.

"They're professionals, they know what to do." Sam said.

"Go to sleep Sam."

"Mercedes," he groaned childishly. "Give your baby daddy some of that sugar."

Mercedes snorted at the use of the words ' _baby daddy'._

"Give your baby mama some of that rest."

Sam sighed and turned around pulling the whole duvet to his side of their bed.

"Remember this when you are in need." he said dramatically leaving her uncovered.

Mercedes rolled her eyes.

"Are you really going to leave me and your growing child in the cold?" It wasn't really that cold but she wanted to be dramatic.

Sam paused.

"You...yeah...but not my baby." He said placing a piece of the blanket on her belly leaving the rest of her exposed.

"And you call me dramatic?" Mercedes asked sarcastically as she rolled over to Sam's side and wrapped her arm around his waist. She lifted up his shirt and kissed her way up his spine.

"No…you don't get any Sammy-loving. You don't deserve the sperminator."

Mercedes burst out in laughter in disbelief and amusement.

"Did you just...did you just... call yourself the sperminator? Oh my soul...no...just no Sam."

* * *

 **Review?**


	17. Chapter 16

**Boo!**

 **Yes, I am still alive. Sorry for the super long wait, I was suffering from a severe case of writer's block but I am back now :) Thank you for each review thus far, they mean a lot. :) I'm ecstatic that you all enjoyed the previous chapter. I hope you'll enjoy this one too.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of _Glee_ ; they belong to their creators and FOX studios.**

* * *

"-I swear, I almost punched her in the face. I'm part of the recurring cast of the show, and this guest comes on and tries to tell me what to do on my show." Tina exclaimed dramatically making Mercedes laugh. "I can't wait until you come back to L.A for the BET Awards. I miss you like crazy. I need you to be conscience again. When are you coming back?"

Mercedes smiled at the woman she dubbed her best friend. After college, Tina and Artie moved to L.A to start their careers. Mercedes moved back to L.A as well and she and Tina grew closer.

"Next week."

She was heading to the BET Awards where she was nominated for _Best Collaboration_ and _Best Female R &B/Pop Artist._ She kinda missed L.A a bit. She missed being busy all the time. It was strange not being in the studio, or on the road. She knew it would be a bit strange being this idle when Sam was at work but she did not think it would be this...well…this boring. She was bored when she was not with her husband. Church functions, Glee coaching only kept her busy for a short amount of time.

"Ooh, I can't wait; we can have a spa day."

Mercedes heard the front door open causing Chuck and Whiskers running out of the kitchen to greet their master.

"I'm home." Sam announced before throwing the door shut behind him. In the kitchen Mercedes heard his nearing footsteps

"Tell, Sam people in Africa could hear that," Tina said via the screen.

Mercedes laughed at her friend before giving her husband a small smile when he entered the kitchen. He walked over to her and pressed a short kiss on her cheek before resting his chin on her shoulder and looking at Tina on the laptop screen.

"Hey, Tina."

"Hey, Sperminator." The woman said making the couple laugh. "Yeah, Artie told me."

Sam smirked with a shrug as Mercedes rolled her eyes at his husband.

"I can't believe you told Artie you actually called yourself that."

"Babe, how can I not brag about that?"

"I can't believe your discussing our sex life with our friends."

"Babe, we're guys it's what we do-"

"Hello, innocent children here," a forgotten Tina said raising her hand.

"Innocent?" Sam snorted. "That's not what your fiancé says," He sang before disappearing out of the room missing the deep crimson blush on Tina's face.

"I don't like this." Tina told Mercedes.

"Me neither."

The women spent nearly half-an hour talking, in that time Sam made his way to the living area and kept Whiskers aka Yoda and Chuck Norris entertained. Mercedes found him on the crimson living room carpet trying to teach Chuck and Whiskers tricks to no avail; both stared at their master with boredom written on their face.

"Come on guys you can't be this lazy."

In response, Whiskers jumped on the couch and rolled over on his back. Chuck lied down on the carpet resting his head on his paws and looking up at Sam with big brown eyes as his ears flopped at his side.

Mercedes chuckled at the expression on Sam's face as she walked into the living area.

"We need to get these animals out of the house for some exercise." Sam said as she sat down next to Whiskers on the couch. Sam watched her rub his warm fat belly eliciting loud content purrs from the alien cat. "Look at Yoda's beer belly."

"You can make them run the treadmill or do one of those Zumba dance videos," Mercedes joked. "No Billy Banks Tae-bo."

Sam rolled his eyes sitting on his knees in front of her. He pressed a soft kiss to her belly, as he did every morning before climbing out of bed and every night before going to bed. Whenever he got the chance he would touch her stomach.

Mercedes loved it. She loved it when he kissed her stomach, she loved it when he rubbed his gently fingers over the stretched skin on her stomach. She just loved having him touch her.

She ran her hands through his soft blonde hair before kissing his forehead.

* * *

"It's too small, Luciana." Mercedes said shrugging out of the dress that did not even want to zip up. "I look like a bloated balloon." She said feeling tears burn on the brim of her eyelids.

She felt like a hideous hungry and fat brown blob monster of nastiness. Unlike other pregnant woman she did not see a 'pregnancy glow' when she looked in the mirror. All she saw was a growing air balloon.

"I brought bigger sizes too, Mercedes-"

"It doesn't change the fact that I look like a pregnant sperm whale expecting quadruplets," Mercedes interrupted wiping away her tears as she handed the woman the black lace dress.

"Mercedes-"

"No, Sam...Not now, okay. Just...nobody talk and just give me another dress." Mercedes said avoiding the gaze of her husband sitting on the couch next to Tina.

All Sam could do was sigh and keep his mouth shut. To him Mercedes was glowing; there was nothing as beautiful to a man than seeing the love of his life carrying his growing child. Mercedes though, suffered from irrational insecurities. At times, he would find her sitting on the kitchen island drowning her sorrows in food whilst crying because she could not stop eating. She was also beyond hormonal; in the mornings she would be all lovey-dovey, at the afternoon she refused him touching her because she felt ugly, at night she was pissed because _he was the one_ who knocked her up. It was confusing to Sam. But even though he had to suffer a rainbow of emotions coming from his wife he wouldn't trade it for the world.

There were so many beautiful moments during her pregnancy. Sam remembered the first time he heard the baby's heart beat... her wailed like a baby. Sam loved holding her swelling belly at night. Sam loved kissing her belly and talking to their growing child. Sam loved watching his wife bask in the glow of pregnancy.

Mercedes' stylist sighed before walking over to the rack of clothes she brought with her.

She handed Mercedes a red-sleeved v-dress. Mercedes pulled the dress over her

shape-wear clad figure standing in the middle of her living room. Luciana walked over to her and zipped up the dress before letting Mercedes study herself in the full length mirror.

Luciana came over to Mercedes' L.A penthouse to show her and Sam red carpet outfits for their couples' debut on the BET red carpet. Sam settled on a navy blue Ralph Lauren suit forty minutes ago. They were now trying to find her something to wear. They were now up to the sixth dress. With every passing outfit, Mercedes became more depressed.

"That dress looks amazing on you." Tina said from the couch next to Sam. Ella agreed from the far corner of the room.

Mercedes clearly did not see what Tina and Ella saw when she looked in her mirror. Her breast were nearly propping out of her dress, her round stomach was on full display for all to see in the body-hugging dress.

Mercedes could not control her tears anymore and started sobbing.

"Love, this is the perfect dress to show of your baby bump-"

Her words just made Mercedes cry more.

"This isn't a 'bump' this is a mountain."

Sam sighed lowly taking his buzzing phone out of his back pocket. Mercedes' insecurities were on overdrive today. All Sam could do when that happens is shut up so he decided to ignore the girls and reply to Blaine's message. He suffered the wrath of her insecurity turned sadness and then anger many times. Last week after he returned home late from going out with friends he made in his community college days Mercedes bit his head off because she felt abandoned. Sam then made the mistake to say she was over-reacting. She threw him with the spoon she was using to eat her ice cream before bursting out in tears because she thought she was turning into an abusive spouse and she just committed an act of domestic violence.

Nope, Sam was going to stay out of this one and let her friends handle it.

"Mercedes, you look beautiful." Tina said. "The dress looks amazing. Embrace the baby bump-"

"I look like I'm trying to smuggle a watermelon over the border." Mercedes cried trying to wipe away tears. "This-this isn't a baby bump...I'm a-a monster speed bump with-with legs!" She sobbed before looking at her husband looking at his phone. "S-S-Sam doesn't even want to-to look at me." She cried.

Sam, hearing his name, looked up to see Mercedes sitting next to Tina on the couch sobbing. Tina and Ella were glaring at him. Sam lifted his eyes to the heavens begging for strength. He could not win with that woman; when he said something, he was painted a liar if he said nothing she painted him a jerk. Sam had no idea how to handle all her hormonal changes.

"I wouldn't wa-want to look at me-me-me either. I eat like a-a pig. M-m-my clothes do not fit. I have ele-elephant cankles. And-and-and-" Mercedes sobbed. "-and I already ha-have stretch marks that-that resembles a US road map.

He sighed getting off the couch. He kneeled before the sobbing hormonal woman talking her small warm hands in his. She looked at him through her wet thick eyelashes as she hiccupped.

"Babe, you look beautiful. You are beautiful. You are glowing and you are stunning. I love every single inch of you and guess what? "Sam said gently before pausing for a beat. "I adore the parts you do not like. You want to know why? Because, it all adds up to you. Every curve, every mark, and every thing you see wrong I love because that's what makes you my Mercedes." He said kissing her knuckles. "You don't have cankles or a road map on your body and if you had you would still be one of God's most beautiful creations in my eyes."

He let go of her hand so he could wipe away her tears. He kissed her forehead keeping his palms on her cheeks.

"You okay?" He asked gently.

She nodded biting her lip. "Yeah...I just have to get used to all these hormones and stuff."

He gave her a heartbreaking smile.

"By the way you look really beautiful in that dress. Red is most definitely your color."

* * *

Mercedes sighed putting a hand on her drumming heart as Sam lied down next to her. They both stared at the ceiling catching their breath after sharing their bodies and soul with one another. Sam wrapped his arm around her belly kissing the crook of her neck. She rolled on her side, Sam kissed her deeply slowly leading her mouth in a waltz rolling his tongue against hers tasting her warm mouth. He could feel her gently fingers at the nape of his skull pulling him closer to her; her soft skin gently brushing his skin with a gentle caress as soft as a whisper.

The need for oxygen forced their passionate kiss to end. They lied on their shared pillow staring at one another in silence; Mercedes losing herself in his green gaze with flecks of brown hidden from plain view. Sam watched his wife soaked in the aftermath of an afternoon filled with passion and shimmering in her pregnancy glow. She looked gorgeous. Pregnancy becomes her. Even though she felt like a bloated whale and she would burst out in tears when she looked at herself in the mirror...to him Mercedes was gorgeous. Seeing the woman he loved carrying his child...it is beautiful...it is overwhelming.

He placed his large warm hand on her baby belly. Mercedes pressed a gentle kiss to his lips before turning in his arms and shrinking into his arms against his chest. She placed her small hands on his under the covers feeling his wedding ring under her fingers. Sam drew little circles on her stomach as he kissed the back of her neck.

"Have you booked the plane tickets home yet?" Sam asked, his breath fanning her earlobe and causing tingles down her spine.

"Uhm, no not yet... I need to talk to you about that..." Mercedes turned in his arms so she could look at him. "While I came back from the bathroom I ran into Ajax, the DJ and producer and he wants to work with me. I was thinking of staying in L.A for a while-"

"I have to be back at school on Monday." Sam said slowly hoping that that this was not going where he thought she was going with this conversation.

"I know but you can return to Lima without me-"

"You want me to leave you behind...pregnant?" Sam asked slowly sitting up. "Mercedes, are you crazy? Do you really think I'm going to leave my wife and child behind-"

"I'm pregnant not disabled, Sam." Mercedes deadpanned sitting up next to him and clutching the blanket to her bare chest. "I...just...I just need something to do, Sam. I am bored of being at home and staring at the walls. I'm bored, Sam-"

"So, I bore you? Thanks for that one." Sam said sarcastically throwing the blanket off him and getting of the bed. He grabbed his discarded boxers and slipped them on.

"Sam, don't put words in my mouth. I never said that. I said I'm bored just being at home while you work-"

"Mercedes, you're the one who said yes to marrying me. You are the one who said you wanted take a break. You are the one who said you do not want to raise our children in a massive city like LA. You were sober when you went into all of this and now that you got what you said you wanted...you're bored with me?" Sam said glaring at the woman sitting on the bed in disbelief.

Mercedes threw her arms in the air before getting off the bed and grabbing a nearby shirt lying on the floor.

"I'm bored with doing nothing!"

"You have me, Mercedes!" He shouted pointing to his chest.

"What about when you're at work?" She screamed feeling tears of frustration running down her cheeks. "I spend most of my days at home or with my mom because you're at work. The only friends I hang out with are Asia and Melissa who also happens to work nine to five jobs from Monday to Friday. Yes at times there are church function that I help with but other than that...I...I feel like I just exist...I have no clear vision anymore. I do not know what to do with my free time. You have a bunch of friends you made in community college. I only have Asia and Melissa because the rest of my friends live in other sides of the country. I feel like Repunzel locked in a castle of my own boredom. I'm not used to being so...so idle!"

"I never asked you to move back to Lima, Mercedes. It was a decision you made on you own even before we decided to give us a chance. Nobody is locking you in a tower." Sam said slowly trying to control his anger and surprise. "I'm sorry you feel so trapped in my presence-"

"I never said that-"

"-and I don't want to bore you any further-" He said sarcastically before she interrupted him.

"DO NOT PUT WORDS IN MY MOUTH, SAM! I NEVER-"

"-but you can't expect me to idly sit by and be okay with my pregnant wife on the other side of the country."

Mercedes rubbed her throbbing temple.

"Sam-"

"You know what...No...Just no, Mercedes. I'm not arguing with you...I can't even believe you said that to me." Sam said before walking out of the room.

* * *

She has been sitting on the couch waiting up for him for nearly three hours. She has been trying to call him but his phone seemed to be off. Mercedes sighed running a hand through her hair as the realization that she messed up taunted her.

After their fight, she decided to stay behind in L.A for two weeks whilst Sam came home. When she called, the queries were always baby related or aimed at her physical well-being. She missed her husband and she missed her home. The saying _'distance makes the heart grow fonder_ ' was quite true indeed. Being all alone in L.A made her realize why she wanted to take a break in the first place. It was not fulfilling her. Yes, she had more to do than sit at home and be the picture of the perfect trophy wife but she was lonely, even surrounded by Tina, Artie and Ella.

Unable to take it anymore she came home to her husband. She knew she messed up and she knew she would have to grovel but she would because she missed him so much. She missed how he touched her, she missed how he looked at her, and she missed how he kissed her. She just point blank missed him.

The fight they had two weeks ago was their first fight as a married couple. Rather than both reaching a compromise, they were hardheaded and stuck to their guns. These two weeks apart were terrible for her. Fighting with Sam was terrible. It was not only emotionally draining but also physically as well. She could not sleep a full night without him next to her anymore. That led to insomnia some nights which led to exhaustion that was not just bad for the baby growing inside of her but also for her fragile hormones. For these past few weeks, the only emotions she felt were either anger or depression.

Mercedes struggled keeping her eyelids open. She glanced at the clock on the wall clock seeing it was ten-thirty. She decided to surprise Sam and apologize but when she arrived home three hours ago Sam wasn't here. She closed her eyes for a few seconds rubbing her belly. She was nearly lost in la-la-land when she heard the keys jungle on the other side of the door. Mercedes blinked a few times trying to wake herself up.

She then heard his familiar footsteps in the hall. She quickly stood up but soon realized it was a mistake judging by how light-headed she felt. She sat down again waiting for the world to stop spinning before attempting to call for Sam. Before she could say his name though, he walked into the room.

"You're here," were the first words that left his mouth.

"Uhm...yeah, I've been waiting for you for nearly three hours. Where have you been?" She asked this time getting up slowly.

He raised a brow shrugging out of his jacket as he snorted.

"I've been waiting for you for two weeks. The real question is where have you been?" He shot back refusing to look at her.

She visibly cringed knowing that she deserved that.

"I was out with Todd and Dave." He continued rolling his eyes.

Todd and Dave were friends he made in college. It was not uncommon for him to go out with them from time to time.

"Oh," Was all Mercedes said as he threw his jacket on the couch behind her. She wanted nothing more than to put her arms around him and hug him tightly but she knew she hurt him with her choice of staying in L.A.

Sam sighed not being able to take this any longer.

"Why are you here?" He looked at her round stomach trying to hide under the loose-fitting t-shirt she was wearing. "Is the baby okay?"

Immediately she put he hands on her stomach.

"No, the baby is fine." she said walking closer to him. "This is my home, Sam. You are here, Sam. Why would you even ask that question?"

Realizing that his facade would crumble if she so much as touched him, Sam moved away from her.

"You stayed behind. I thought L.A is where you wanted to be. I thought it made you happy." He said bitterly.

What she said, it stung. Yes, a part of him saw her point but her staying behind and indirectly telling him he was not, enough hurt him deeply. She had the world at her feet; she was talented, she was beautiful, she was smart. His biggest fear was that he would not be enough for her one-day and when she told him, she was staying in L.A that fear became reality.

"You make me happy, Sammy." She said feeling tears burn in the brim of her eyes. "It just took me time away from you to realize that you are my happy. I was like a major hormonal bitch to you and I'm sorry. You make me happy. You are my home." She took another step forward. This time Sam did not reject her by taking a step backward. "I'm sorry." She said attentively wrapping her hands around his looking up at him with wide wet eyes. "I'm so sorry-"

He pressed his lips to hers cutting her off mid-sentence. He wrapped his arms around her pulling her closer feeling her baby bump press against his stomach. He missed her. Oh he missed her. He was not used to not seeing her everyday. He was not used to waking up without her body sprawled out next to his.

Yeah, he was pissed and he was hurt but he kissed her with everything in him because he missed her so damn much. Only when his lungs ached with the need for oxygen did he pull away to catch his breath. He rested his forehead against hers.

"I missed you," He whispers looking into her beautiful eyes.

"I missed you too," She whispers as his hands found her belly.

He kissed her again leading her to the couch getting rid of his shirt in the process...

* * *

He watched her sleep drinking in the sight in front of him. The moonlight coming through the open window bathed her chocolate skin in its glow. Her waterfall of wild curls sprawled over her pillow. She pressed her lips in a small pout resting her palms under her cheek as she took deep breaths.

Sam pressed a small kiss to her forehead eliciting a soft sigh from her. He then lifted the sheet off her naked torso before pressing a small kiss on her stomach.

"Hey, bud, I missed you." He said drawing a little circle on her stomach. "Were you good to your mommy? I know she can be a little stubborn but I don't wanna hear that you made it more difficult than it needed to be." He kissed the bump again. Though the child was not even fully developed yet, Sam already had such an unbelievable amount of love for him or her in his heart.

Their little one seemed to be a shy baby, he or she refused to show the OBGYN what their sex was. Sam joked once that the baby shared Mercedes' virtuous views. Mercedes did not find it funny though, she under the influence of hormones thought he was making fun of her and burst into a fit of tears there on the OBGYN's examination bed.

Sam loved his wife but she was a little crazy at times. One moment she wants to get it on like Marvin Gaye and next she is bawling because she thinks she is turning into a sex addict. In all honesty, Sam loved it; what man would not want his wife to find him attractive? What man would not want his wife constantly jumping his bones? What man would-

 _Wait did the baby just kick for the first time?_

Sam swore he felt something where his hand was on her stomach. He rubbed the spot and seconds later, he felt it again; it was a flimsy kick but it was there. Mercedes groaned in her sleep mumbling some incoherent sentence before taking a deep breath and falling back into a deep slumber.

"Hey, bud, you awake in there?"

The baby rewarded Sam with another gentle kick.

Sam smiled before kissing the bump again.

"I guess you are just as excited as I am. I cannot wait to meet you, bud. I cannot wait to hold you. Your mommy can't wait either; she's super excited." Sam said before turning serious. "Now you and I have to talk about something serious; I know your mom is super dramatic at times and I exaggerate a lot but come on buddy you can't make us wait until birth to find out if you're a boy or a girl. I know it will be, like, a super dramatic debut into the world, but come on bud you cannot make us wait that long. Let us make a deal, you show us at the next doctor's appointment your going to be my baby girl or baby boy and I'll make sure your mom never force feeds you broccoli ever. Your grandma did it to me when I was a kid and I will never wish that upon another soul. So we have a deal?"

Mercedes, who gained consciousness midway through Sam's one-sided conversation with their little one in her belly, could not help but laugh.

"Are you really making a deal with the baby still in the womb?"

"We're compromising." Sam said giving her a cheeky grin. He pressed another kiss to her stomach before sliding up the bed and wrapping his arms around her. He kissed her nose before she buried her face in the crook of his neck. He ran his fingers down her spine humming her to sleep again.

* * *

 **I really hope you all enjoyed :)**

 **To those who do not know, I started a new story so if you have time, go check it out :)**

 **Thoughts about the chapter and poor Sam having to deal with 'Cedes' crazy hormones?**

 ***Spoiler alert for next chapter: Things are going to get interesting and maybe a little scary too ;) Intrigued**


	18. Chapter 17

**Disclaimer: The song Mercedes sings is actually written and sung by an artist named Plumb. It's a really beautiful song. These characters belong to their creators and FOX studios; I just own the plot idea since those creators never gave us real closure for Sam and Mercedes. The only characters that got closure was: Rachel, Will and Sue. The rest of them were just…there.**

* * *

It was her missing warmth that woke him. His body has come so accustomed to hers that even in a deep slumber it would still reach out for hers and if it did not find her he would wake up.

"'Cedes," Sam called, his voice thick with sleep.

He received no answer in return prompting his eyes open. He placed his hand on her side of their bed feeling that the sheets were cold, a telltale that she left the bed a while ago. Sam sat up stretching his arms over his head before feeling around for his slippers- yeah, manly man wore slippers. Sam started his search for his wife.

After roaming most of the home his journey ended at the soundproof music room. He opened the door, her voice and the piano greeted him immediately. He took a few seconds to study her sanctuary: lilac walls covered with life size posters of her musical icons in black and white from the singer Ella Fitzgerald to Aretha Franklin and the late Whitney Houston. Her walls were lined with instruments she could play: the violin, the cello, the clarinet. Many did not know how gifted his wife actually was; not only did she have a beautiful voice but she could beautiful music as well. Her grandmother was a classically trained pianist in France and the woman taught her how to play all the instruments she could learn.

His gaze washed over Mercedes sitting behind her piano with her eyes closed. The soft lights soaked her in its ethereal glow as her fingers ran over the familiar keys with her eyes still closed. Her growing baby bump proudly exhibited in an old stretched shirt of his. In that moment Sam realize what a lucky man he actually was. Here he was in a beautiful home married to the love of his life, many people were not lucky enough to meet their soul mates in their lifetimes but here Sam was with his expecting their first child.

' _Castles- they might crumble._

 _Dreams may not come true_

 _But you are never all alone._

' _Cause I will always,_

 _Always love you_

 _Hey I,_

 _Hey I,_

 _When the clouds will rage in_

 _Storms will race in_

 _But you will be safe in my arms_

 _Rains will pour down_

 _Waves will crash around_

 _But you will be safe in my arms, in my arms.'_

Sam leaned against the doorframe. A soft smile adorned his lips as he watched her lost in her music. She looked breath-taking. It was like she had an unearthly, gorgeous glow emanating from her soul and it drew him in. Seeing their little boy; a perfect mixture of both of them growing stronger in her day by day...it was breathtaking...Mercedes was breath taking.

"I can feel you eyes on me," She said grabbing her note book off the piano and scribbling into it.

Sam walked over Sam smiled pushing himself of the doorframe and walking towards her. He sat down next to her on the piano bench watching her place the book back on the piano.

"It's three in the morning."

"Tell that to your son. Your son seems to be practicing his soccer skills in the womb… on my bladder since one," she said before yawning.

Sam smiled kissing her temple.

"That's a beautiful song."

"You think. It's for the baby"

Sam nodded wrapping his arm around her back.

"I can't wait to finally meet him and hold him," Sam said. "I already saw the cutest Hulk, Spiderman and Superman onesies for hm. Our kid is gonna be the cutest child ever."

Mercedes smiled looking at her gorgeous husband as he placed his hands on her belly.

"You awake, Clark-"

"Sam for the last time, we are not naming our child after a fictional character-"

"But-"

Mercedes gave him a cold look making him swallow his words. Sam sighed pouting.

"But he likes the name, don't you, Clark?"

The baby kicked in response. Sam smirked.

"Two against one."

"I have more say since I'm carrying him."

Sam rolled his eyes.

"You see how bossy your mommy is."

Sam received a light tap on the back of his head from a not very amused Mercedes. Sam gave a big apologetic smile causing her to roll her eyes.

"I love you."

"Yeah whatever." She said as she stretched next to him.

* * *

Some would find this too amusing for words. Mercedes Jones-Evans (she kept her maiden name hyphen for the sake of her career) Grammy winning, artist was on her knees and hands polishing her kitchen floor. Mercedes was doing her spring cleaning in December.

Their parents were spending Christmas with them in their new home. Sam's parents and siblings were going to arrive this weekend after winter break started and Mercedes wanted everything to be spotless so she was polishing, washing and cleaning like it was nobody's business. Sam suggested they get a maid but Mercedes would hear none of it. She believed that nobody could clean her home like she did plus the pregnancy hormones were making her a little OCD.

The house rang forcing her off her knees. Mercedes stretched hissing as a sharp pain ran up her spine and the baby kicked- hard. Right there and then she decided she was going to guilt Sam into giving her a full body message when he arrived home later. Mercedes pulled down the thick Christmas sweater, Sam's grandmother made before wobbling her way over to the phone in the living area.

"Hello." She sang.

Her greeting was met with the sound of heavy breathing.

"Hello" She repeated.

Again, the only reply she received was heavy breathing from the other side of the line.

"Hello? Look if this is a prank call know that this is not very funn-"

"You look beautiful. Pregnancy certainly becomes you." A cold mechanical said cutting her off mid-sentence before continuing. "I like it when you wear your hair up like that. I missed you, Mercedes"

Mercedes' blood ran cold freezing her to her spot for a few seconds until she got control of her body again. Mercedes circled the room as her heart hammered in her chest in fear that somebody would jump out. She ran into the kitchen towards the door and locked it immediately, phone still pressed against her ear. A painful suffocating lump formed in her throat.

"Mind if I come visit, Mercedes." The voice asked. "I want to come visit you, Mercedes."

Mercedes grabbed a knife, looking out the window of the backyard searching for the source of the voice before. The only site that greeted her was the snow covered earth and grey skies. She closed the curtains.

Mercedes refused to make her fear apparent so she swallowed the lump in her throat before saying: "I'm going to call my husband-"

"I saw him leave this morning, baby."

Mercedes could hear the smile in his voice at the fact that he out-smarted her. Mercedes ran upstairs as fast she could, wiping away tears as she frantically searched for her car keys.

"Careful, Mercedes, didn't your mother tell you not to run with sharp object?" The mechanical patronizing voice asked. "We wouldn't want to get blood all over your pretty sweater...or worse hurt the baby."

"Who are you? What do you want?" Mercedes asked desperately searching for her keys. She was about to cry in frustration before she found what she was looking for on her bedside table.

"Don't you remember me, Mercedes?" The voice asked as she ran down stairs. "They took me away for a while. They said I was sick. They said I'm crazy." The cold voice laughed causing a numbing shiver down her spine. "I'm not sick, Mercedes. I just love you. I'm crazy in love. You were all I thought about when I was in there. I thought about your smile...your eyes...and that delicious body. I thought about all the things I want to do with-"

Before he could continue Mercedes ended the call as wave of nausea hit her. She stood on the end of the stairwell dry-heaving for a few minutes before she got control of her body. She took a deep breath.

In survival-mode and with adrenaline pumping through her veins she threw the front door open and ran outside- the dog and cat following her outside before she threw the door shut. She unlocked the car door as the phone rang in her back pocket. Mercedes put the dog and cat in the passenger's seat before climbing into her Landover and locking the doors. Mercedes blinked through the tears as she looked at the screen seeing it was an unknown caller. She ended the call before starting the car and making a u-turn in her driveway. She pressed the gate remote driving down her driveway lined with trees. The phone rang again.

"Leave me alone you sick son of a-!" Mercedes shouted.

"Remember your seatbelt, Mercedes. Safety first, you're driving for two." The voice said. "-or should I say four since the dog and cat are coming along on the road trip too."

Mercedes accelerated her speed, nearly flying out of the open gates into the street. She saw the black gate closing behind her as she drove down the street. Next to her Chuck and Whiskers were meowing and barking in confusion as she drove like a mad woman. She ended the call before putting on her seatbelt.

Almost immediately the phone started ringing again and again and again but she refused to entertain him further. She was starting to hyperventilate. Mercedes wiped away tears trying to take deep breaths for her aching lungs and calming her frantic heart for the sake of her baby and before her hyperventilating progressed into a full-blown panic attack. Mercedes tried controlling her tears as she drove down the streets of Lima ignoring every speed limit, road sign and traffic light she passed. She prayed for the constant ringing next to her to stop to no avail.

She finally reached her parents' home. She nearly fell out of the car but gathered her balance quickly. She threw the front door open frantically calling for her mother as she ran down the short hallway.

"Baby, what is wrong?" Her mother asked running out of the kitchen only to see her daughter in tears.

Mercedes threw herself at her mother. She collapsed in her mother's arms once the adrenaline left her body. She sobbed into her mother's chest holding her tightly as cloud of fear and disgust tried suffocating her. Another wave of nausea hit her as his sick perverted words rang in her ears. Her mother gentle rocked her back and fro on the floor trying to calm her down. Mercedes was too frantic to calm down. She started rambling against her mother's chest, her words muffled.

"He's-he's back, Mom. He's ba-back, Mom." Mercedes cried tightening her hold on her mother. "It's him, Mom. It-it-it's him."

"Baby, what are you talking about? You're not making sense-"

"He's back, Mom. He called me. He's watching me." Mercedes sobbed looking at her mother, her eyes were wet.

"Baby, I need you to calm down and breathe, okay. In-" Mercedes did what her mother said. "-and out." Mercedes let out a deep breath and followed her mother's commands until her heart rate lowered.

Her mother helped her off the floor and led her to the kitchen. She gave her daughter a glass of water before sitting down across from her. Mercedes shakes as she brought the water to her lips. Her throat hurt when she tried swallowing.

"Now, tell me what's wrong." Her mother said.

Mercedes moved her focus from the kitchen wall to her mother placing the glass down with shaking hands.

"He's back, Mom. He-he-he told me what I was wearing. He told me what I was doing." Mercedes could feel a fresh set of tears burning beneath her eyelids. "He told me that he thought about me. He told me he wanted to-to-to do things to me, Mom"

"Baby-"

"Mom, he's back." Mercedes hiccupped as her mother pressed her palms on her cheeks.

"Mercedes, start from beginning." The woman said. The worry in her eyes was clear to see.

Mercedes took a deep breath and told her mother everything she tried hiding years ago about the letters and pictures her stalker sent her. She never told Sam about the graphic things he promised doing to her when he got angry with her; she never wanted to think of that again. One minute he was writing her love poems, the next he was threatening to kill her. She tried forgetting; she buried those memories in chest in the darkness of her consciousness. But now he was back and he was bringing all the thoughts she never wanted to replay with him.

By the end of the story her mother had tears in her eyes. Her mother could not believe that her daughter had to go through all of this alone. She could not believe her daughter went through all that pain and fear but never told her. Sheryl felt like a bad mother for noticing there was more to the story than Mercedes told her.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you, Mom. I just did not want you guys to worry about me. He just stopped one day and I never heard from him again...until now."

Sheryl held her daughter.

"Hey, this isn't about me. You have nothing to apologize for okay." Her mother whispered against her forehead. "We are going to call the pol-"

Before the woman could finish her sentence the wall phone rang. Mercedes' head immediately snapped to the blue phone. Her mother stood up and answered the phone. Mercedes could see her mother's face turn pale before rage overtook her body.

"You leave my daughter alone you sick bastard. You hear me?" The woman hissed swallowing a breath.

" _I want to talk to Mercedes."_

Mercedes heard the mechanical voice shout from the other side.

Mercedes stood up taking the phone from her mother and ending the call. She grabbed her mother's wrist pulling her away from the phone.

"We-we have to-to go."

"I have to call the pol-"

"Mom, he knows-" Mercedes sobbed. "He knows where you live. He knows your number. He-he-he is watching me, Mom. He's watching." Mercedes was frantic. "We have to go." Mercedes pulled her mother out of the kitchen against her will.

She could feel him nearby. She knew it was crazy but she also knew it was true. She had no idea where he was but she knew he was watching her,

She pulled her mother with her down the hallway out of the door. She barely gave the woman enough time to lock the door before grabbing her hand and leading her to her car as her phone rang in her pocket...

* * *

Sam was beyond pissed. He was so enraged that he was throwing around curse words like it was going out of fashion. Sam's father in law had to hold Sam back as he went off on the two police officers like a New Year's missile. Sam wanted blood. He wanted justice. He wanted safety for his wife. He wanted it now.

"-so you're f*cking telling me that you can't do sh*t for my harassed wife? You got to be f*cking kidding me-"

"Mr. Evans we don't know who this person is. And calling someone is not against the law. Until you have proof that this person if a threat to anybody's safety we can't do anything-"

"You shut your damn mouth and listen to the f*cking words leaving my mouth. My pregnant wife was f*cking mentally harassed. If the roles were reversed would you accept these sh*tty answers you're giving me?" Sam hissed feeling the clutches of anger and frustration suffocating him in their grasps.

"Mr Evans, I understand your frustration." The black police man said. "However, we don't have any physical evidence-"

"Oh, frustrated is not the word I would use. Pissed. Shaking with rage. Ready to f-"

"Sam-" Mercedes' soft gently voice called from the couch next to her mother. "-come sit down." She said.

"Mercedes-"

"Come here." She said holding out her hand for him. Her soft calm voice washed over him.

Sam's father in law let him go once he felt the man had gathered enough self-restraint not to attack the two men. David was disgusted that these people who went to church with him, who grew up in front of him were giving up on his daughter.

Sam sat down next to his wife needing to feel her against him. She clasped his shaking right hand between her palms trying to calm the enraged and afraid man. She kissed his fingers before placing their hands on her lap. She took a deep breath and looked at the two men.

"Thank you for your time." She said politely, to drained to fight, before addressing her mother: "Mom would you and Dad show them out please."

The woman nodded before getting up and showing the men out her daughter's home.

"When you have solid evidence then we can start building a case. Have a good night." The white man said before nodding.

Sam snorted at those words. The people moved out of their living room leaving him and his wife alone for the first time since he got home from work. When he arrived at his house it was empty. He then received a call from a frantic Mercedes who was at her father's dental office telling him what happened.

Sam kissed Mercedes' temple wrapping his arm around her. He rested his chin on her head drinking in her warm presence.

"Are you okay?" Mercedes asked against his shoulders.

Sam let go of her staring at her for a few seconds in silence before a hysteric laugh burst through his lips.

 _Here she was asking him if he was okay whilst she was the one who was being called and tainted by a lunatic._

Sam's frantic chuckle became a sob before he wiped away tears of worry.

"Are you okay? Have you eaten today?" He asked worriedly. He knew all of this could not be good for the baby. "Is the baby okay?

"No, I just think I need to lie down for a while-"

"I think you should eat first-"

Her ringing cell phone cut him off. Mercedes stared at it before looking at Sam again, immediately knowing who it was. Sam's face that returned to its normal colouring turned red in anger as he grabbed the phone.

"You better stop calling. I have no idea who you are but I will find out and I will f*cking kill you, okay. So you better hope that the police find you before-"

Mercedes took the phone from Sam mid-sentence and ended the call before taking out her battery. She needed a break. She needed a few hours of blissful ignorance to the world around her. She needed to sleep. She needed to cry. She needed to curse. She needed a small amount of time to fall apart before pulling herself together. She needed to recharge herself for not only herself but also her child.

* * *

 **I only have like 5-6 chapters left for this story. The end is near (that sounded so dramatic in my head since I said it in a Darth Vader voice).**

 **Review?**


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